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TOPOGRAPHICAL

AND

HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

OF THE

PARISH OF TIXALL,

IN THE

COUNTY OF STAFFORD.

BY Sm THOMAS CLIFFORD, BAR'

AND

ARTHUR CLIFFORD, ESQ.

PARIS:

PRINTED BY M. NOUZOU, Q, RUE DE CLERY.

APR 8 1968^^^ I

A
TOPOGRAPHICAL

AND

HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

OF THE

PARISH OF TIXALL,

IN THE ,

COUNTY OF STAFFORD.

To elucidate Local History, in the manner in whch it ought
to be elucidated, is, to rescue the worthy from oblivion j to de-
lineate the changes of manners, and the progress of arts j to call
back to the fancy, the pomp and splendour of ages that are
gone : to restore the ruined castle ; to repeople the deserted man-
sion 3 and bid, for a moment, the grave render back its inha-
bitants to the fond eye of regret.

Censura Literaria, yo\. i. p. 5o.

(i )
To His Royal Highness Charles Philip of France,

MONSIEUR,

Colonel-General of the National Guards of France,

And of the Swiss and Grisons,
etc. etc. etc.

Sir,

Permit us to express our most grateful sense of the obliging
condescension which allows us to inscribe with your illustrious
name, this description of a place which your Royal Highness has
sometimes honoured with a visit, and of which you have often
spoken in the most flattering terms of approbation. This distin-
guished mark of your Royal Highness's favour, gives a lustre
and a value to our Work, which it could not otherwise have ex-

( " )

expected to attain : and it affords us an opportunity, which we
highly prize, of proclaiming the heart-felt sentiments of respect
and attachment with which we have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your Royal Highness's

Most humble,

And most devoted Servants,

Thomas Clifford,
Arthur Clifford.

Pan's, January ]3; 1818.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The Authors of this Work beg leave to express their obliga-
tions to Mr. Pipe Wolferstan for his kind assistance, and for some
valuable communications ; and also to Mr. Hamper of Birming-
ham. They desire likewise to make their acknowledgements to
Mr, Littleton of Teddesley Park,M. P. for enabling them to adorn
the work with a Portrait of his and their illustrious ancestor,
Judge Littleton ; and to Mr. Edward Jerningham, for allowing
them to engrave his original Miniature of the unfortunate Viscount
Saflford,

( 5 )

AN
HISTORICAL

AND

TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION

OF THE

PARISH OF TIXALL.

A HE parish of Tixall, (which was anciently written Tiche-
sale, (i) Ticks-hall, and Tyxale)^ is situated two miles east of the
borough town of Staftbrd, and about twelve miles to the north-
west of the city of Litchfield. It lies in the very middle of Staf-
fordshire, and nearly in the centre of England. The earliest ac-
count which I have been able to find of this parish, is contained
in the following passages, extracted from Domesday-book. In
that ancient and invaluable record, the parish of Tixall is thus
described :
Terra Comitis Rogerii — In PirehoUe Hundred. — Ipse comes

(i) Possibly, the hall of Tyche, or Tycho, a name known in Den-
mark— as Tycho Brabe, the famous astronomer.

( 6 )
tenet Tichesale, et Henrlcus Ferrieres de eo — Ibi dimidium vir-
gatae terrae — Terra est quatuor carucatarum. — In dominio est una
carucata cum uno villano — Ibi duee acrae prati silva tres quaren-
tenas Ionga,et duas lata — Valet decern solidos — Elmundus lenuit.

Terra Robert! de Stafford, in PirheoUe Hundi-ed.

Isdeni Rob."" tenet in Tichesale tres partes unaehidse, etHugo
deeo. Et Alricus et Ormar tenuerunt, et liberi fuenint. Terra
est sex cainicatarum. — In dominio est una, et tres ser\'i, et septem
villani, et duo bordarii cum duobus carucatis — Ibi sex acrae
prati — Silva unam leucam longa, et tres quarentenas lata — Valet
triginta solidos. (i)

The land of Earl R.oger — In Pireholle Hundred, (a)

The earl himself holds Tichesale, and Henry Ferriers holds of
him. There, is half a virgate of laud. — The arable land contains
four carucates — One carucate is in demesne, with one villan. —
There, are two acres ofmeadow — a wood^ three furlongs long, and
two broad. — It is worth ten shillings — Elmundus held it.

The land of Robert de Statford in Pireholle Hundred.

The same Robert holds in Tichesale three parts of a hide, and
Hugo holds of him. Alric and Ormar held it, and were free. There
are six canicates of arable land. One is in demesne, and three
serfsj and seven villans, and two borderers, with two carucates.
There, are six acres of meadow, a wood a mile long, and three
furlongs broad. (5) It is worth thirty shillings. (4)

(i) Domesday, in com. Staff. Vol. i. p. 24^-49- Printed by order of
the House of Commons in i ■^83.

(2) Pyrehill, is still the name of the hundred in which Tixall lies.

(3) It is difficult now to conjecture where this extensive tract of wood-
land, which seems to have covered nearly half the parish, was situated ;
perhaps, in that part which was afterwards converted into a park.

(4) See Appendix, ]\'o. I.

( 7 )

By this extract from Domesday-book, it appeal's, that Tixall
was given by the Conqueror, partly to Earl Pioger, (a) and partly
to Robert de Statford, or Stafford ; (b) that Henry FerrierSj (c)
and Hugo (i) held under them: and that Elmund, (2) Alric,
and Ormar, were the original Saxon proprietors before the
Norman conquest.

The family of Earl Roger was, in a few years, utterly extir-
pated out of the kingdom ; but the various branches of Stafford,
and Ferrers, continued to flourish for many centuries in great

(a) See note a, at the end of the description of Tixall.

(b) See note b.

(c) See note c.

(i) Son of Earl Roger — See note a.

(2) Elmund, Alric, and Ormar, who are mentioned in this extract
from Domesday-book, were the iiufortuuate Saxon proprietors, or te-
nants, who were dispossessed by the Conqueror, to make room for his
favoured Normans. Of these, Alric appears to have been a man of con-
siderable consequence. Ormar and he are here styled liberie J'reemen ;
and in another part of Domesday- book, Alric is called Teinus Regis Ed-
■warcU, a royal thane, which was the highest rank of nobility among the
Saxons. He is stated to have formerly held Efnefeld, now Enville, the
seat of Lord Stamford, cum soca ; that is to say, with jurisdiction over
a certain district extending through inferior appendages held of a barony
or manor ; and paying suit to its courts, etc. He held several estates
under K. Edward, and at the time of the survey had one carucate of
land in Ridware, under the Bishop of Chester. There is a ford in the
river Sow, opposite Tixall, called Hollisford, and a meadow adjoining,
called Ho His Meadow, which names appear to be corrupted from Alric's
Ford, and Ahic's Meadow. These oppressed Saxons now thought
themselves happy to be allowed, to hold as vassals, under the king, or
some great Norman baron, a part of those lauds, of which they had for-
merly been lords and masters.

( 8 )
splendour and power : and among their descendants, are to be
found some of the most noble and illustrious families in En-
gland at this day.

Upon the death of Earl Rogerj his part of Tixall devolved with
his other estates in England, to Hugh de Montgomery, his se-
cond son ; -svho being slain in battle, in the year 1098, Roger
de Bellesme, of Normandy, his eldest brother, obtained pos-
session of the English estates, on paying a fine of 5, 000/. to the
king. (*) In 1102, in consequence of his attainder, and the
confiscation of all his property in England, his share of Tixall
Avas probably annexed to the barony of Stafford ; and it seems
likelv that it continued to be a dependancy of that barony, till
the attainder of Staflord, Duke of Buckingham, in the reign of
Henry VIII.

Early in the 12th century, Tixall appears to have been pos-
sessed by the family of Wasteneys. (2) This name of Wasteneys,
or Gasteneys, is found among the list of Normans of distinction,
■who came over with the Conqueror, and was probably derived
from Le Gastinois — (^^''astiniumorVastinium Lat.) a province of
France, which is a subdivision of the district called the Or-
leanois.(D) It continued in the possession of this family, for
many generations, till the reign of Richard 11., when Roger de
Wasteneys had an only daughter, called Rose, who inheriting her
father's estates, married Sir John Merston, Knt. : and they hav-
ing no issue, in the year 1469, sold the reversion of Tixall,
after their death, to Sir Thomas Littleton, at that time a judge

(*) Dugdale, Baron, vol. i. p. 38.

(2) Tixall Evidences. Stowe's Cbron. p. 108. English Baronet, vol. i.
p. 533.

(d) See note d.

( 9 )

of the court of common pleas, (e) This Sir Thomas Littleton,
was the famous lawyer, whose " Treatise on Tenui-es" is so justly
celebrated, as well for its own merits, as for the ample com-
mentary with which it has been illustrated by Sir Edward
Coke, (f)

Sir William Littleton, eldest son of Sir Thomas, inherited
Tixall. He married Ellen, daughter and coheiress of William
Walsh, Esq. ofWanlip, in thp. county of Leicester, by Mary,
daughter and coheiress of Richard Byron, Esq. of Clayton, in
Lancashire, (i) By her, he had a daughter, and only child,
Joan de Littleton, who married Sir John Aston, of Haywood,
knight banneret. By this marriage, Tixall, and Wanlip came to
the family of Aston, (g) Sir Edward Aston, son and heir of Sir
John, who lived in the reign of Henry VIIL transferred his resi-
dence from Haywood to Tixall ; and built there a magnificent
mansion, of which the venerable ruins still remain. It descended
from him, to his grandson, Sir Walter Aston, who was made
a knight of the Bath, at the coronation of James I. ; was one of
the first English bai'onets j and finally, in the year 1627, was

(e) See note e.

(f) See note f.

(i) Ex stemm. Fam. de Aston, penes Dom. Clifford de Tixall, Barnne-
thum.

Among the Family Evidences at Tixall, there is a fragment of a letter
addressed by Dugdale, the famous antiquarian, to his son, in order that
he might deliver it to Lord Aston. The following passage is a part of
this fragment. " Tixhall came to them by a daughter and heire of Welsh
not many ages since ; which daughter mariyed to Littleton of Frankley,
(in Worcestershire) which Littleton^^by her had a daughter and heire mar-
lyedto Sir John Aston, a knight banneret. But before that, it was in the
family of Wasteneys for many descents."

(g) See note g.

B

( 10 )

created Baron Aston, of Forfar, in the kingdom of Scodand
From him the estate of Tixall descended, in lineal succession,
to James, fifth Lord Aston : Avho married the Lady Barbara
Talbot, daughter of George, fourteenth Earl of Shrewsbury ; but
dying in the year 1760, without male issue, his estates were
equally divided between his two daughters and coheii'esses : 1 .
Maryj married to Sir Walter Blount, Bart, of Sodington and
Mawley, in the county of Worcester : 2 Barbara, wife of the
Hon. Thomas Clifford, fourth son of Hugh, third Lord Clif-
ford, of Chudleigh, in Devonshire, (h) Tixall fell to the lot of
the Hon. Barbara Clifford, who died in 1786, and upon the
death of her husband, the Hon. Thomas Clifford, the year fol-
lowing, the estate of Tixall devolved to their eldest son, Sir
Thomas Hugh Clifford, Bart, the present possessor.

A List of Persons and Families, who were proprietors
of the Parish of Tixall, at the period of the Con-
quest, and since, down to the present time.

Elmund, Ali'ic, Ormar, (Saxons) 1066

Roger de Montgomeri, Earl of Shrewsbury, Chiches-^

terj and Arundel > 1 086

Robert de Toeni, or de Stafford )

Hugh de Montgomeri, second son of Earl Roger io94

Robert de Bellesme, eldest son of Earl Roger 1098

In the crown or annexed to the barony of Stafford 1102

Family of Wasteneys — from about 1120 to 14^9

Rose de Wasteneys, married to Sir John Merston, Knt. . .

Sir Thomas Littleton 1481

His widow, during her life

(h) See note h.

( ^1 )

Sir Wm. Littleton, their eldest son i5o5

Joan de Littleton, married to Sir John Aston, knt. bant, . iSoy

The Family of Aston

James, fifth Lord Aston ^l^l

The Hon. Mary and Barbara Aston i ^So

The Hon. Thomas Cliflbrd 1 768

Sir Thomas Hugh ClifTordj Bart 1787

Having thus given a summary account of the ancient state of
the parish of Tixall, and of its various possessors, from the con-
quest, down to the present time ; I shall now proceed to the
topographical and historical description of the parish itself, and
of the most remarkable places in its immediate neighbourhood:
and shall begin hy describing its boundaries.

BOUNDARIES.

The parish of Tixall is bounded on the north, by Hopton-
heath, on the east, by Ingestrie Park, and the river Trent : on
the west, by Beacon Hill, and the lands of St. Thomas Priory;
and on the south-west, and south, by the river Sow : by the wild
romantic knolls, and hanging woods of Cannock Chase ; and the
highly-ornamented scenery of Shugborough. It is a peninsula,
formed by the rivers Sow, and Trent ; the former of which,
though the larger stream, loses its name, as it falls into the
Trent, at the village of Great Haywood : where the parish also
joins to the more ancient and original property of the Astons.

( ^3 )

HOPTON-HEATH.

Hopton-heaih, (*) the northern boundary of Tixall parish, is
the property of Earl Talbot : and was inclosed about thirty
years ago, by the father of the present Earl. This spot is cele-
brated in English history, as having been the scene of a bloody
battle, which was fouglit there, on a Sunday, the 19th March,
1643, between the king's troops, commanded by Spencer Comp-
ton. Earl of Northampton, and the Parliamentary forces, under
Sir John Gell, and Sir Wm. Brereton. Two of the Earl's sons,
James, Lord Conipton, and Six' Charles Complon, fought by
his side ; but the former, being wounded in the leg, in the be-
ginning of the action, was forced to leave the field. Soon after,
the Earl's hoi'se was shot under him ; yet he continued fighting
on foot, and killed with his own hand a colonel, who had ad-
vanced to attack him. At length, his helmet being stnack oflf
Avith the butt-end of a musket, and his person left exposed and de-
fenceless ; the enemy offered him quarter, but he resolutely
replied, " I scorn to take quarter from such base rogues ajid
rebels as jou are." Immediately, a blow from a halbert, on the
back of his head, and a deep wound in his face, brought him to
the ground, and he was killed upon the spot. Thus fell this gal-
lant nobleman, in the forty-second year of his age. The par-
liamentary generals refused to give up the dead body to his sons,
or to allow his surgeon to embalm it : but they afterwards car-
ried it to Derby, where it was interred in All Saints' church in
that city. (2) Since the inclosure of Hopton-heath, human bones.

(*) Hopton, quasi Upton, or High-town, this heath being the highest
ground hereabouts.

(2) Clarendon, Hist. Rebell. vol. 3. p. i49-5o. Shaw, Hist, of StafiF.

( 15 )

with fragments of military weapons, have sometimes been turned
up by the plough ; of which a few have been preserved, and are
deposited in a farm-house near the heath. This circumstance
corresponds exactly with what was prophesied by Virgil, con-
cerning the plains of Pharsalia, in the following beautiful lines
at the conclusion of the first Georgia :

Scilicet et tempus veniet, cum finibus illis,
Agi-icola incurvo terram molitus aratro,
Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila ;
Aut gravibus rastris galeas pulsabit iaanes,
Grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulcris.

Georg. I. 1. 493.

The time will come, when in those fatal fields,
As to the plough the opening furrow yields,
Some labouring swain shall find the rust-worn pike,
Or with huge harrows hollow helmets strike ;
From the deep trench shall bones of heroes raise,
And fixed in wonder on the fragments gaze.

INGESTRIE.

Ingestrie, (anciently called Ingestrent, (i) and in Domesday-
book, Gestreon), one of the eastern boundaries of Tixall parish,
was a part of the great barony of Stafford, granted to Robert de
Toeni, by William the Conqueror, and was then valued at
i5s. 5d. In the reign of Henry II. it was held by Eudo, or Ivo
de Mittorif or Mutton: but some years after, it passed from this
family to that of Chetwjnd. In the curious ancient record,

(i) Ingestrent, frona ing, in Danish, a meadow, i. e. Trent Meadow.
In the register of Church-E^ton, in i658, and in other old records it is
so called.

( i4)

called Testa de Necill, (2) it appears, that about 19 Hen. II. In-
gestrie and Mitton were held by the heir of Ralph de Milton ;
but that in the following reign, they were held by Sir Philip de
Chetwynd. How these estates passed from the Mittons to the
Chetwynds, is clearly shewn in the following narration :

" Neare to Hopton, on the same side of Trent, lyeth In-
gestrie, w^*" Hugo held of Rob. de Stadford 20 Conq. but whe-
ther he were paternall ancestor to the Muttons, who not long
after possessed it, is hard to be determined. In the time of Hen 2.
Ivo (or Eudo) de Mutton was L^of Ingestre and Mutton. He
gave certain lands in Ingestre, to y® Priory of St. Thomas (then
newly founded) and became a Lay-brother there ; leaving his
possessions to his son S"^ Ralph de Mutton kt. who was also Lord
of y' Manors of Gratwich, Rewle, and Rugge, co. Staff,
and of Drumheniskin in y^ county of Louth (or Urielj in y* pro-
vince of Ulster, in Ireland, w"*" last was given him by Bertram
de Verdon (a great Baron in those times.) This S"" Ralph had issue
Adam, and Philip, both kts. — to Sir Adam, Henry de Audith-
legh (or Audeley) in the time of H. 5. gave all y* lands at Brere-
don (except Radmore) : he and his heirs paying yearly a paire of
gilt spuri's att the feast of St. James for all services except forreign.
This Sir Adam was likewise a Benefactor to the Convent of St.
Thomas, where he had the presentation of a Canon granted to
him and his heii's for ever, to celebrate divine service for the souls
of Sir Philip de Mutton, his brother, for y* health of his own
soul, and for those of his ancestors and successors. He bore

(2) Testa Nei>iUi, or Testa de Nevdl, is an ancient record, kept by the
king's remembrancer, in the Exchequer : and contains the knights' fees,
throughout the greatest part of England, with inquisitions of lands escheat-
ed. It got the name from its compiler, Johan. de JVevil, one of the iti-
nerant justices in the reigu of Hen. III.

( '5)
for his arms (as appears by his seals) Fretlie with a Canton : in
allusion, I suppose to the Audleys ; a custom frequently used in
that age, by such as had a dependance on great persons. He
died about y' /^o. H. 5. leaving by Isabella his wife, Ralph his
son, then under age (who died not long after without issue) and
Isabella, an only daughter, married to S'' Philip de Chetwynd, co.
Salop, kt.who56 H. 5. was seized of Ingestre, Gratwich, and
Mutton (all w"*" were then certified to be held of y^ barony of Staf-
ford by two kts. fees and an half) as also of Drumheniskin in Ire-
land • and after the death of Sir Philip de Mutton without issue
(which happened about i6. Ed. i.) Philip de Chetwynd, son of
S'' Philip and Isabella before mentioned, remained sole heir to
that family ; being in his mother's right, possest of Ingestre etc.
(co. Staff.) whose son S'' Philip, ii. E. a. obtained a charter
of Free-warren in all his said lauds, and by marrying Alicia,
daughter and coheir of S'' Ralph de Grendon, in Warw.'* 35. E. i.
became possest of a fair estate in Grendon, Dordon, and Wavei'-
ton, all which Lands and Lordships in y^ Counties of Warw. and
Staff, except Rugge (a part whereof is now enjoyed by a younger
branchof this family) are, by a continued succession, descended
to Walter Chetwynd, now of Ingestre, Esq"', 1679." (i)

(i) The above-cited passage is extracted from a folio MS. compiled by
this W. Chetwynd ; though he never published it, nor any other work.
He was intimately connected with all the eminent antiquaries of his time.
Burton, author of the " History of Leicestershire," one of the first coun-
ty-histories published in England, left him his MSS. Erdeswick's papers
also came into his possession : and it was he who introduced Dr. Plot
into Staffordshire, and engaged him to write the natural history of that
county. Dr. Plot has mentioned W. Chetwynd with great respect ; and
has given an interesting account of the building and completion of Inges-
trie church. All the above-mentioned valuable MSS. of Burton, and

( i6)

This Walter Chelwynd, was a great antiquary, and a man of
learning, liberality, and piety. In 1675, he began to rebuild the
parish church of Ingestrie, and completed it in thi'ee years. One
of his ancestors, Wni. Chetwynd, was Gentleman Usher of the
Chamber, to king Henry Vll. and in the gth year of that king's
reign, was most barbarously assassinated on Tijcall-heath, as
will be afterwards more particularly related.

Walter Chetwynd, the antiquary, died without issue ; when
his estates devolved to Captain Chetwynd, his near relation : whose
eldest son, Walter, was twenty years member of parliament,
for the borough of Staftbrd, from 1702 to 1722. Being a firm
and zealous adherent of the house of Hanover, he was, in the
year 171 7, created Viscount Chetwynd, of the kingdom of Ireland :
but dying without issue, in 1756, John, his next brother suc-
ceeded him in the title and estates.

Erdeswick, besides considerable ones of W. Clietwynd's own writing,
though carefully put up in a box, were unhappily mislaid on the repair-
ing of Ingestrie-hall, and continued in obscurity, till a few years since,
when they were again discovered at that place. Those of W. Chetwynd's
own writing, consist principally of two folio volumes, beautifully, as well
as accurately written ; the one, a vellum chartulary, containing copies
of all the records of the Chetwynd family, with elegant drawings of mo-
numents and seals, and of the church and house at Ingestrie : the other,
(which is the book whence the above-cited extract is taken) presents a clear
and concise account of nearly all the parishes, together with pedigrees
of the families, in the hundred of Pyrehill. This last MS. which hadbeen
lent by Lord Talbot to the Rev. S. Shaw, was after his death for some
time in the possession of my learned friend, Samuel, Pipe, Wolferstan,
Esq. of Statfold, near Tamworthj by whose kindness, I have been en-
abled to make several valuable extracts from it, for this work. Mr.
Wolferstan, well deserves the encomium bestowed on Erdeswick, by
Camden ; venerandce antiquilalis cullor inaxiniiis.

( '7)

This John, Lord Chetwynd, had a daughter, Catherine, who
married m 1748, the Hon. John Talbot; and on her father's
death, in 1767, inherited his estates : but the title of viscount de-
scended to a younger brother of Lord Chelwynd.

The Hon. John Talbot, was third son of Charles, first Lord
Talbot, who in 1775, was appointed lord chancellor; and the
same year, was created a peer of Great Britain, by the title of
Lord Talbot, Baron of Hensol, in the county of Glamorgan. (1)
He died in his ofEce of chancellor, in the year 1757, the fifty-second
year of his age, universally honoured and beloved, and justly la-
mented as a great national loss.

" He was endowed with admirable talents, which were im-
proved by a liberal and generous education, suitable to the dig-
nity of his extraction ; and by applying to the study of the law,
advanced himself, by real merit, without servility, or the arts of
corruption. Both as a pleader, and a judge, he displayed an
uncommon fund of knowledge and eloquence ; and manifested
an inviolable integrity upon all occasions. Although in place,
he maintained the independence and spirit of the most celebrated
patriots of any age or country. He never prostituted the power
of office to ministerial or other dictates ; nor ever stained it by
an act of avarice : nor were his own family and kindred the sole
objects of his care and beneficence. He was the munificent
patron of literature, and learned men; and the sure relief of
the distressed." (2) His family was a bi-anch of the ancient and II-

(i) " Lord King resigning the office of chancellor, it was conferred upon
Mr. Talbot, solicitor-general, together with the title of baron ; a promo-
tion, that reflected honour upon those by whom it was advised. He pos-
sessed the spirit of a Roman senator, the elegance of an Atticus, and the
integrity of a Cato."— Smollet, Hist, of George H. 1733.

(2) Collins, Peer. art. Talbot.

c

( i8)
lustrious house of Talbot ; and lie was lineally descended from
Sir Gilbert Talbot, of Grafton, in Worcestershire : who was
third son of John, second Earl of Shrewsbury, knt. banneret,
and knight of the garter, and one of the most renowned warriors
and statesmen of his time.

Where is the great Alcides of ihe field,

Valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury ?

Created for his rare success in arms.

Great Earl of Wexford, Waterford, and Valence j

Lord Talbot of Goodrich and Urchinfield,

Lord Strange of Blackmere, Lord Verdun of Alton,

Lord Crumwell of Wingficld, Lord Furnival of Sheffield,

The thrice victorious Lord of Falconbridge :

Knight of the noble order of Saint George,

Worthy Saint Michael, and the Golden Fleece ;

Great marshal to King Henry the Sixth,

Of all his wars within the realm of France, (i)

Charles, eldest son of the chancellor, a most promising youth,
died before his father, in 1755. He had made the tour of
Europe with Thomson, the author of the " Seasons:" to whom
Lord Talbot was a liberal patron, and kind benefactor. Dur-
ing their travels, Thomson conceived the plan of his poem on
" Liberty j" but while he was employed in writing it, after their
return to England, Mr. Talbot died. The poem opens with
the following affectionate tribute of sorrow to the memory of
his friend :

O my lamented Talbot ! while with thee,
The muse gay roved the glad Hesperian round.
And drew th' inspiring breath of ancient arts 3
Ah ! little thought she, her returning verse

(i) Shakespeare, King Hen. VI. parti, act. iv. so. 7.

( ^9)

Should sing our darling subject to thy shade !
And does thy mystic veil from mortal beam
Involve those eyes, where every virtue smiled,
And all the father's candid spirit shone ?
The light of reason, pure without a cloud ;
Full of the generous heart, the mild regard ;
Honour disdaining blemish, cordial faith,
And limpid truth that looks the very soul.

Thomson also composed a poem " To the memory of Lord
Talbot •" which breathes the most noble and exalted sentiments
of honour, patriotism, and virtue : it is equally creditable to
the chancellor, and the poet, and reflects great honour on Lord
Talbot's family, to whom it is addressed.

William, second son of Lord Talbot, succeeded his father in
his title and estates ; and in the first year of his present majesty's
reign, was appointed lord steward of the household, and ad-
vanced to the dignity of an earl. As lord steward, he walked at
the nuptial pro cession of theirmajesties, Sept. 8, 1761, taking place
of all earls, by virtue of his office. At the solemnity of their
coronation, his lordship, as lord high steward of England, car-
ried St. Edward's crown : pronounced the words of homage
to bis majesty, in the name of the earls ; and attended Mr. Dy-
mocke, the champion, when he made tlte formal challenge. (1)

Earl Talbot died in 1782, without male issue j when the earl-
dom became extinct, but the barony devolved to his nephew, John
Chetwynd Talbot, eldest son of the Hon. John Talbot, and Ca-
therine Chetwynd, above-mentioned : who, in 1784, was created
Viscount Ingestrie, and Earl Talbot. He married Lady Char-
lotte Hill, daughter of the Marquis of DowTishire, and sister to
the present Marchioness of Salisbury ; by whom he had issue,

(1) Collins, Peer. ibid.

(20)

Charles Chetwynd Talbot, the present earl ; who, in 1800, mar-
ried Miss Lambart, daughter of Charles Lambart, Esq. of Beau-
park, in Ireland.

Ingeslrie is a small pai'ish, nearly all in demesne. It is
bounded on the east, by the Trent, from which it rises by a gra-
dual ascent, till it joins the parish of Tixall. The parts conti-
guous to Tixall ai'e the Ley-park, adjoining to which is the Deer-
park, and the Pleasure-ground, commonly called the Wilder-
ness. This is a handsome tract of forest-scenery ; one part being
a close thicket, the other, an open grove of majestic oaks : some
of which are above 12 or i4 feet in girth, at five feet from the
ground. The approach from the north is through an avenue of
beech trees, of uncommon size and beauty. Beneath this
magnificent shelter, stands the ancient mansion, on the declivity
of the hill. The south front is a fine piece of architecture, of
the time and style of James I., and its appearance is very striking
and venerable. The present earl has lately pulled down the
north front, which was of more modern date ; and with that
good taste and discernment, which are conspicuous in all his im-
provements, has erected a new one, in the same style of architec-
ture as the south front : by which, not only the exterior gran-
deur of the whole is much increased, but a noble suite of apart-
ments has been formed within. His lordship has also com-
pleted a handsome approach to Ingestrie, from the south : and
for this purpose, has planted a saltmarsh, which, before it was
drained, was almost incapable of vegetation ; and has removed
from the Pleasure-ground, an ancient triumphal arch, which
with some additional buildings, and decorations, now forms
an elegant and appropriate entrance-lodge.

( 21 )

THE RIVER TRENT.

Our progress through the boundaries of the parish ofTixall,
has now brought us to the river Ti'ent : which is not however its
immediate boundary, being separated from it, by a narrow strip
of Haywood-Liberty which intei-venes. The name of this river
has puzzled and amused the etymologists. Some derive it from
the French word Treiite, and suppose that it obtained this ap-
pellation from receiving thirty tributary streams ; (i) to which
Milton alludes in one of his juvenile poems :

The Trent, which like some earth-born giant spreads
His thirty arms along the indented meads.

It is also said to produce thirty sorts of fish ; to which Dray-
ton adds, that thirty abbies decorated its banks. (2) Omitting
other fanciful etymologies, I proceed to inform the reader, that
this noble river, the third in England, in size and consequence,
takes its rise from three springs or heads, in the north-west ex-
tremity of Staffordshire ; one issues out of New Pool, the other
two i-ise not very far from each other, at ihe foot of Mole Cop,
a mountainous ridge which divides this country from Cheshire. (3)

Soon after the union of its three streams, the Trent passes
about a mile from Stanley, a small village, from which never-

(1) Camd. Brit, in com. Staff.

(2) Polyolb. Song XI.

(3) In seeking for the derivation of the names of towns, it seems natu-
ral to search for them, in the language which prevailed at the time, when
those towns were first built or founded : but as rivers are coeval with the
earth, the etymolo^ of their names should rather be sought in the most

(22)

theless, all the great Stanley families take their name:(i) it flows
thence to Hilton, once an abbey ot Benedictine monks, founded
in 1223, by Henry de Audeley ; and which, at the dissolution of
monasteries, was transferred in exchange for other lands, to Sir
Edward Aston, of Tixall, by Hen. VIII. (2) It next traverses the
Staffordshire Potteries, (3) which extend through a series of vil-
lages, for nearly seven miles ^ and form altogether one of the
most remarkable districts in the kingdom. At Stoke, it meets
the navigable canal from the Trent to the Mersey, commonly
called The Grand Trunk j which is there carried over the river

ancient or aboriginal language of the country. Upon tkis principle, the
conjectures of Camden, -who derives the name of Trent, from Trente :
and of Pennant, who deduces it from trie, three, in Saxon ; are equally er-
roneous. Richard of Cirencester, in his singularly curious work, " De
Situ Brltannniae" in which he gives a description of Britain, ia the time of
the Romans, calls it Irivona Fluvius : which was probably the name it
bore at that period ; for it is not to be found in any narrative of later
times, nor perhaps in any other work. This name Trivona is evidently of
British origin, from trei, three, and avon, a river : the final a, being
merely a Latin termination : and is very appropriate to the Trent, w hich
springs from three heads at some distance from each other, but soon united
in one stream. In like manner, its present name is probably derived from
trei, three, and ynten, together. (See Glossary of British words in Bor-
lase's " Cornwall."

(i) Erdeswick.

(3) Dugd. Monast. vol. i. Evid. at Tixall.

(3) "The manufacture of Potter's ware is very extensive and important •,
the value of the manufactured article being as it were a creation of the ma-
nufacturer, from a raw material of low value. The Potteries consist of
a number of scattered villages, occupying an extent of about ten miles; and
may contain above 20,000 inhabitants, including those who depend upon
them for employment and subsistence." (Pitt's Agric. Surv. of Stafl".)

(23 )

by an aqueduct. Three miles farther on, it reaches Trentham ;
once a priory of regular canons, founded by King Ethel-
red, about the year 683, and afterwards rebuilt and endowed
by Randolph, second Earl of Chester, in the reign of Hen. I.
It is now the principal residence of the Marquis of Stafford.
Here the Trent is expanded into a fine lake, covering eighty acres
of groimd ; the western bank of which is adorned with a noble
hanging wood. It next iiins between Darlaston and Meaford,
where are seated two branches of the ancient family of Jervis j
which has gained immortal fame, by the naval exploits of that
gallant and intrepid Admiral Earl St. Vincent. (4) Here the
roads from Chester and Liverpool to London unite, and cross
the river over a handsome stone bridge, of one arch, newly
erected. Just behind is Stonefield, lately inclosed ; where, in
1745, the Duke of Cumberland drew up his army to give bat-
tle to Prince Charles, who was supposed to be advancing that
way. (5) The river gradually enlarging in its course, now flows
by the town of Stone ; a place rising rapidly into wealth and con-
sequence, from the influx of trade brought there by the Grand

(4) " Of such as have signalized themselves ia the navy, few countries
can boast an equal number. To the names of Admiral Leveson, in the
reign of Elizabeth, and the MjTiors, of Uttoxeter, in the last century,
we are proud to add that of the late Lord Anson, of Shugborough, in the
present ; and the future historian will expatiate with pleasure on the
achievements of Sir Allan Gardiner, (a native of Uttoxeter) and on those
of Sir John Jervis, of Meaford, near Stone ; whose late glorious victoiy
over the Spaniards, still cheers every British bosom, andhas justly obtained
for him the earldom of St. Vincent." (Rev. S. Shaw, Pref. to Hist, of
Staff.)

(5) " In future times, posterity will almost doubt the fact, when they
read, that a considerable band of mountaineers, undisciplined, unofBcered,

(■^4)

Trunk Canal. Here also was a priory, founded by Kenulph,
King of Mercia ; but much increased by the barons and earls
of Stafl'ord : many of whom were buried in this place, (i)
At the dissolution of monasteries, it was puixhased by Wil-
liam Compton, a rich mei-chant, who married Jane, eldest
daughter of Sir Walter Aston, of Tixall.

About a mile below Stone, on the banks of the Trent, stands
Aston ; once an estate of the Stanleys, from whom it came by
marriage to the Heveninghams ; from them to the Simeons j and
lastly, to the late Thomas Weld, Esq. of Lulworth-castle, in
Dorsetshire j who sold it a few years since to Earl St. Vincent.

The next place of any note on the banks of this river is San-
don: which from 12. Edw. III. till the reign of James I. nearly
3oo years, was the residence of the Erdeswicks : of whom
the last and most celebi'ated was Sampson Erdeswick, the anti-
quaiy. (2) It became afterwards the property of the Hamilton
family ; and about forty years ago, Lord Archibald, now Duke
of Hamilton, built there a handsome stone house, and in a com-
manding situation ; but disposed of it, before it was compleated,
to Nathaniel, first Loi'd Harrowby. His son, now Earl Har-
rowby, has erected on a bold woody knoll opposite the south
front of the house, a column of the Doric order, which is a con-
spicuous and ornamental object to the surrounding country. On
the north side of it is this inscription :

and half-armed, had penetrated into the centre of an unfriendly country,
with one army behind them, and another in their front ; that they rested
there a few days, and that they retreated above three hundred miles, with
scarcely any loss, continually pressed by a foe, supplied with every advan-
tage that loyalty could bestow." (Pennant, Jour, from Ch. to Lon. p. 5o.)

(i) Dugd. Mouast.

(2) Eredesw. Anticj. of Staff.

(25)

Sacred to the Memorj of William Pitt. 1806.
On the south side are these lines :

Gulielmo Pitt

Dudleius Baro Harrowby

Patri patrifE civis

Amico amicus

Moerens posuit.

Having watered the rich pastures of Ingestrie, about three
miles from Sandon, the Trent then comes in sight of Tixall :
and here, after having pursued its course from its spring to this
place, nearly in a strait direction, the river seems to indulge
in many playful and serpentine meanders, as if unwilling to quit
the" delightful spot ; and indeed, from Tixall to Wolseley,
a distance of four miles, it flows through as beautitiful a valley
as is to be found in any part of England, (i) Its vai'ious scenes,
rich in every object of rural beauty, luxuriantly picturesque,
smiling with verdure, and crowTied Avith plenty, strongly call to
mind the poetic fictions of the vale of Tempe, and the pastoral
Arcadia ; or, rather, to use the language of Goldsmith :

Here lawns extend that scorn Arcadian pride,

And brighter streams than famed Hjdaspes glide, (a)

(i) Armstrong, in his excellent classical poem, " The Art of preserv-
ing Health," recommending the amusement of fishing, enumerates some
of the most prolific streams, and crystal rivulets, best adapted to afford
this delightful sport : and says,

-------- Such through the bounds

0{ pastoral Stafford, runs the brawling Treat.

B. 3. 1.72.
(a) Traveller, 1. 3 11.

D

(26)

About a mile from Tixall, a poi-tion of" the river is diverted
from its course, in order to work a corn-mill, which was the
ancient lord's mill of the Aston family : and was sold by the
late Hon. Thomas Cliflbrd, to the Stafl'ordshire and Worcester-
shire canal company. It is admirably situated for business, at
the spot where that canal falls into the Grand Trunk : and its
present proprietors have availed themselves of these advantages,
by adding a paper-mill, and an apparatus for grinding colours,
to the original concern. Adjoining is a warehouse belonging to the
company, and a house and office for the wharfinger, who manages
the business of both canals. Here the Staffordshire and Worces-
tershire canal is carried across the two arms of the Trent, by two
aqiieducts, and terminates in a spacious bason, which opensinlo the
Grand Trunk Canal, at the distance of 46! miles from its other
extremity at Stourport, where it communicates with the Severn.
By this canalj the Grand Trunk, and the Grand Junction Canal,
there is now an uninteri'upted communication between the four
great rivers to England : the Thames, the Severn, the Trent, and
the Mersey; and consequently, a direct trade by water, between
London, Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull, (i)

Immediately after passing under the two aqueducts above-
mentioned, the Trent unites its branches, and hastens to re-
ceive the Sow j which is so far, a more considerable river than

(1) " The perpendicular elevation of the summit of the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire canal, above the level of the tide in the Thames at
Brentford, is said to be 385 feet. That of the Grand Trunk Canal,
420 : and of the Trent, at its junction with the Dove, 100." (Pitts,
Agric. Survey of Stall", p. 8.)

" Respecting the convenience for conveyance of heavy articles, per-
haps no county in England, or even country in the universe of equal ex-
tent, is belter accommodated vvith artificial canals. They extend about

( ^7 )
itself, but fated to lose its name and consequence in the waters of
its more fortunate rival :

O two sucli silver currents when they meet,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in.(i)

The confluence of the two streams forms a broad sheet of
water, which is fordable, having on its left bank the village
of Great Haywood j and on its right, Shugborough, the
magnificent seat of Lord Viscount Anson, anciendy writ-
ten Soughborow ; and so called from its situation at the mouth
of the Sow. This expanse of water is crossed bj a long

a 00 miles in length, and much facilitate the convenience of bulky and
weighty articles, such as coal, limestone, and lime ; iron in the ore, or
metal ; flags, and stone for building ; and considerably reduce the ex-
pense of carriage. The trade in those articles has consequendy been ex-
tended to a verj' great degree, and the population of the neighbourhood,
where they are produced, has much increased. The very rapid exten-
sion of Birmingham, and also of the Potteries, has been much promoted
by canal conveyance. Similar instances are to be found elsewhere. Thus
these canals have been a means of considerably increasing population, by
enabling the proprietors of mines of iron, coal, and lime, to extend their
works, and by that means employ more people in raising manufactures,
and transporting the ditl'erent articles. They cost in execution about
5 00,000/. -, and upon an average pay ten per cent, per annum, to the
proprietors : they consecjuently add half a million to the national capital,
and 5o,ooo/. per annum to its income ; and with their consequent ex-
tension and improvement of the mines, manufactures, and commerce of
the countrj', not less than double the sums above-stated : and are cer-
tainly a great national improvement, as well as accomodation to a trading
country." — Ibid.

(i) Shakespeare, K. John: act. 2, so. 2.

D 3

(28)
and picturesque stone bridge, not wide enough for carriages,
which ouce consisted of forty-three arches ; and was generally
said to have the greatest number of arches, and to have been the
longest horse, or foot-bridge, in England ; but it is now re-
duced to fourteen. It was erected by the Earl of Essex, the ce-
lebrated favourite of Queen Elizabeth, while he resided at Chart-
ley-castle, about four miles distant, in order to convey his hounds
across the river to hunt in Cannock Chase, (i)

Leaving the beautiful vale of Shugborough, the T -ent passes
on between Wolseley-hall and Bishton^ the seat of Mr. Sparrow,
to Colton and Bellamore, (2) an ancient seat of the Aston family,

(1) " From the middle of the bridge is a view ol very uucommon beauty,
varied vnth almost every thing that nature or art could give to render it de-
licious. The old church of Colwich, the mansion of the ancient English
baron at Wolseley-hall ; the great-windowed mode of building in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, in the house of Ingestrie ; the modern seat at Oak-
edge, and the lively improved front of Shugborough, are embellishments
proper to our country. Amidst these arise the genuine architecture of
China, in all its extravagance ; the dawning of the Grecian, in the mixed
Gothic Gateway at TixaU: and the chaste buildings of Athens, exempli-
fied by Mr. Stuart." (Pennant, Jour, from Ch. to Lon.)

(2) " Trent, having left Wolseley and Bishton, passes to Colton, and so
takes its farewell of Pyrehyll hundred. In 20 Conq. Goiffridus held
Colton of Rob. de Stadford, there being then one hide of land, con-
taining six carucates, sixteen acres of meadow, and a mill, wth woods a
mile long, and three quarters broad, all which were then valued at 5os,
and had been in the possession of Odo andUlfric before the conquest. In
the next age, Hardulfe de Gastenois, (or Wasteneys) was lord of it, from
whom it came by descent to SirT. de Wasteneys, Knt. whose daughter and
heiress Thomasine, brought it in marriage, temp. Ric. 2. to Sir Nich. de
Greseley of Drakelow, Kut. In 7 Jac. Sir Geo. Griesley, Bart, alieued it

(29)
now the residence of Edward Blount, Esq. grandson of the last
Lord Aston ; and then taking an eastern direction, receives at
King's Bromley, the waters of the Blythe, a clear stream, (re-
markable for Cray fish, trout, and eel,) which rises in the Moor-
lands of Slaflbrdsire, and waters the noble demesne of Blyth-
field. It soon after reaches Wichnor, a place famous for the
flitch of bacon, which has been kept there for 700 years, as the
never yet claimed reward of uninterrupted conjugal harmony.
Here the stream divides, and forms several islands, over which
the great road fi-om Lichfield to Burton, (a part of the Roman
way called Ikenild-street) is carried by three successive bridges.
Just below it receives the Tame, and then turning to the north-
east, divides Staflbrdshire from Derbyshire. Ai Burton, re-
nowned for its ale, its left bank was once decorated by a splen-
did abbey, which was founded and richly endowed in 1002, by
Wulfric, Earl of Mercia ; and in 1 546, was bestowed on Sir Wm.
Paget : by whose descendant, the present Marquis of Anglesea,
its ample revenues are still enjoyed.

Having beautified and enriched the county of Stafford, during
a course of more than fifty miles, the Trent swelled by the ro-
mantic Dove, runs eastward through Derbyshire • and at Sharde-

to Sir Walter Aston, (then knight of the Bath, but after Lord Aston, of
Forfare, in Scotland) whose son, W. Lord Aston, anno i658, sold the
scite of the manor house and a great part of the demesne to Wm. Chet-
wynd ofRugeley, Esq. most of the tenements to the several occupants,
and the rest (with the royalty and advowson) to his brother Herbert As-
ton, who had also other lands here by his father's gift, on which he
built and resided, giving his house the name of Bellamour, in regard it
was finished by the benevolence and affection of his friends."
(Chetwynd's MS.)

C3o)
low, seven miles south-west of" Derby, becomes navigable for
large vessels, and here the Grand Trunk Canal terminates, at the
distance of ninely-lhree miles from its other extremity, where it
joins the Mersey. Skirting Leicestershire, the Trent is shaded
by the venerable oaks of Donnington Park, the antique residence of
the Earls of Huntingdon, now the property of the Marquis ofHas-
tingSj who hasbuilt there a beautiful mansion in the Gothic style. A
few miles beyond, it visits the castle and town of Nottingham, and
then taking a more northerly direction by Newark, it traverses
Lincolnshire, till it meets the mouth of the Ouse, when both
rivers lose their names, in the Humber, an estuary from three
to six miles in breadth, which carries their united waters into
the German ocean.

------ Hail, sacred flood !

May slill thy hospitable swains be blest
In rural innocence j llij mountains still
Teem with the fleecy race j thy tuneful woods
For ever flourish, and thy vales look gay
With flowery meadows, and the golden grain.

BEACON-HILL.

"Vi^e come now to contemplate the western boundary of Tixall
palish, which is formed by the Beacon-hill, and the lands of St.
Thomas Priory. This hill, with the grounds about it, and
the whole estate, formerly belonging to the canons of St.
Thomas, is extra-parochial. It rises abruptly in the midst
of an open champaign country, and being crowned with
an airy clump of trees, is an agi-eeable and picturesque feature to
the circumjacent neighbourhood. It was no doubt, formerly
the station of a beacon or signal. These beacons were high

(5i )
posts, erected in conspicuous places, on the top of which were
fastened barrels filled with pitch j and were long in familiar use
among the primitive Britons, and western Highlanders of Scot-
land. When it was necessary to rouse the people to arms, in cases
of foreign invasion, or other sudden emergencies, these barrels
were set fire to in the night, and the flame could be seen at a
great distance ; but in the day time, the signal was given by
raising a great smoke. In the reign of Edw. III. it was ordered
that this sort of alarm should be made with pitch pots, placed on
standards, or on elevated buildings, Avithin due distances from
each other, (i) To these contrivances, has now succeeded the
ingenious invention of telegraphs .

It appears that similar means of giving alarm, or communi-
cating intelligence from distant places, were employed by the
Greeks in very ancient times, as is evident from the following
lines in the i8th book of Homer's Iliad :

As when from some beleaguered town arise
The smokes, high-curling to the shaded skies,
(Seen from some island, o'er the main afar.
When men distrest hang out the sign of war)
Soon as the Sun iu ocean hides his rays
Thick on the hills the flaming beacons blaze :
With long projected beams the seas are bright,
And Heaven's high arch reflects the ruddy light.

But the most remarkable instance of the use of this sort of bea-
cons in antiquity, is to be found in the following lively and pic-
turesque description of the manner in which the intelligence of

(i) Chamb. Die. by Rees. Eucycl. Brit. ait. Beacon.

(52)

the taking of Troy was communicated to Clytemnestra, then at
Argos, by Agamemnon. It is in the tragedy of Agamemnon,
by ^schylus :

Chorus.

What speed could be the herald of this news ?

Clytemnestra.

The fire, that from the height of Ida sent

Its streaming light, as from the announcing flame

Torch blazed to torch. First Ida to the steep

OfLemiios j Atlios' sacred lieight received

The mighty splendor ; from the surging back

Of th' Hellespont, the vigorous blaze held on

Its smiling way, and like the orient sun

Illumes with golden-gleaming rays the head

Of rooty Macetas ; nor lingers there,

Nor winks unheedful, but its warning flames

Darts to the streams of Euripus, and gives

Its glittering signal to the guards that hold

Their high watch on Mesapius. These enkindle

The joy-denouncing fires, that spread the blaze

To where Erica hoar, its shaggy brow

Waves rudely. Unimpaired the active flame

Bounds o'er the level of Asojjus, like

Thej ocund Moon, and on Cithoeron's steep >

Wakes a successive flame j the distant watch

Agnize its shine, and raise a brighter fire.

That o'er the lake Gorgopis streaming holds

Its rapid course, and on the mounlaia heights

Of iEgiplanctus huge, swift-shooting spreads

The lengthened line of light. Thence onwards waves

Its fiery tresses, eager to ascend

The crags of Prone, frowning in their pride

O'er the Saronic gulf: it leaps, it mounts

The summit of Arachne, whose high head

Looks down on Argos : to this royal seat

(33)

Thence darts the light, that from th' Idan fire
Derives its birth. Rightly io order thus
Each to the next consigns the torch, and fills
The bright succession, whilst the first in speed
Yies with the last : the promised signal this
Giveu by my lord to annouocc the fall of Troy.

jEsch. Agam. 1. i85.

PRIORY OF ST. THOMAS.

The priory of St. Thomas, the Martyr, (the famous Thomas
a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury) was founded by Richard
Peche,(i) who was chosen Bishop of Coventry in 1162. In 1181,
he was appointed one of the justices in Ireland ; and in the same
year founded this priory, only ten years after the assassination
of Becket. (2) In 1 182, Bishop Pcche put on the habit of a ca-
non regular of St. Austin, in this priory • and dying the year
following, was buried in the church which he had erected, and
in the habit of the religious order which he had embraced.

At the same time, Gerard de Stafford, the son of Brian, ceded
to this priory, all the land which he held of the bishop, beyond
the water of Berkeswich ; to wit, from Kynesbrook, (5) as far as

(i) '' Vocabulo Galileo, quod Peccflto/zj sonat ;" says Godwia, '^ De
Prsesulibus Angliae ;" p.Sia.

(2) Anglia Sacra, vol. 2. p. 4^5. Shaw's Hist, of Staff, art. Litchfield.
Dugd. Monast. vol. 2. p. 3 16.

(3) Male ia Dugdale, Akyiiesford. — See Cartulary in the Appendix,
No. II. Knyesbrook is now Kinson-brook : Wy thedeiislade is no doubt the
woody and watery dell, which bounds St. Thomas property on the Tixall
side : wythe, a willow, den, a hollow or bottom, slade " sylva ccedua," a
coppice •, in modern language, AVillowdell Copse.

E

(34)

Wjthedenslade in length ; and in breadth, from the Tixall way
to the Sow water : and as much of the water as is contiguous to
that land. In 1194? 5, Rich. I. the canons of St. Thomas pur-
chased the lordship of Drayton, near Penkridge, a part of the ba-
rony of Stafford, of Hei'vey Bagot ; which he was constrained
to sell upon his marriage with Milisent, the heiress of Stafford, in
order to raise the fine of 3oo marks, to be paid by him to the
king for livery of the said barony. About the year i263j 4?
Hen. III. the unfortunate RoSert de Ferrers, lastEai-1 of Derby,
granted two messuages, and seventeen acres of land in Chartley,
and the advowson of the church of Stow, to the priory of St.
Thomas, for the health of his soul, and of the souls of Mary and
Alianora, his wives, and of all his ancestors, and posterity : to-
gether with his body, after his decease, that it might be there
interred. (1)

In Pope Nicholas's taxation, for Staffordshire, in 1291, 19
Edw. I. the priory of St. Thomas is said to possess lands iu
Stow, worth iSmaiksper an. : do. iu Caverswall, gi j at Moore,
4 marks 3 lands in Drayton, near Penkridge, worth 6is. j at
Fradswell, 5os. ; at Colton, 11s. 5dj at Mere, in the deanery
of Newcastle, 68s. 4<1- j ^t Stradicote, 10s. j Pendeford, do.;
Leigh, 3os. ; Orbeston, (now Worslon) Cote, Epton, (now
Hopton) Whitgreave, etc. 48s. ; and a mill, and other rents
worth 74s- The mark being i3s. 4^., the whole annual value
amounts to 37/. 5s. yd. at that time.

I find no further mention of St. Thomas Priory, till the reign

(i)It is probable that this Gerard de Stafford was some opulent iuhabitant
of the town of Stafford^ and was so called from the place of his residence ;
but not of the great family of the Barons de Stafford -, as the names of

Gerard, and Bi-ian, occur no where in their genealogy Erdesw. Staff. —

See also the original Charters in the Appendix, No. II.

( 35 )
of Hen. VIII. when in the account taken of religious houses, its
annual income was estimated at i4i/- i5s. 2d.(i) From the
great difference in the value of money at this day, it is difficult
to calculate exactly the revenues of this priory ■ but some judg-
ment may be formed by comparison with similar establishments :
out of fourteen religious houses in Staffordshire, mentioned by
Dugdale, there are only two, whose income exceeded that of
St. Thomas; the abbey of Burton, estimated at 267/. i4s. 6d.
and that of De la Cress, at 227/. 5s.

Walter Chetwynd, of Ingestrie, having enumerated the exten-
sive possessions of this priory, (in his manuscript folio quoted
above) adds as follows :

" Having thus amply enlarged y® Possessions given by their
founders, and procured several Bulls fi'om y' See of Rome, for
the perpetuall appropriating them to their Priory, with y* sen-
tence of Excommunication against the violaters thereof, they
likewise obtained divers franchises and exemptions from y* Civil
Power; and had also a grant of Free-warren, 12 E. 1. in all
their demean land. But neyther y* Papal Anathemas, nor their
Royal Charters coidd protect them against that Statute made in
y® Pari'- att Leicester, 27 H. 8. by which, all the Relegious
Houses, whose revenues exceeded not 200/. per an. were given
to y* king, whereupon there fell to the cro^^^l no fewer than
576: in which number this was included, being the preceding
year, valued (according to those easy rates set on them by y"
Commissioners) but att 141^- i3s. 2d."

Upon the final dissolution of religious houses in England, the
priory of St. Thomas was held by the crown for some years ;
till the king granted it with aU its manors, lands, and appurte-

(i) Dugd. Bar. vol. i. p. 265. Monast. p. 317.

E 2

(36)
nances, to Rowland Lee : who had been chancellor of the dio-
cese of Lichfield, and in i554, was consecrated bishop of that
see ; and was besides Archdeacon of Cornw all, professor of civil
and canon law in the university of Cambridge, and commissary-
general to Cardinal Wolsey, in his visitation of the whole church
of England, in i52g. (i) Rowland Lee was indebted for his
promotion to die bishopric, to the services which he had done to
Henry VIIL ; and particularly for having performed the cere-
mony of his maiTiage with Anne Boleyne, though Queen Cathe-
rine was still alive, and the pope would not grant a divorce. This
marriage took place in the chapel of Sopewell nunnery^ near St.
Albans • which was granted eight years after to Sir Richard Lee,
who was probably nearly related to the bishop. (2) Rowland
Lee was a very remarkable man, and possessed of great abilities.
He was made governor of the Marches in Wales ; an office which
he retained till his death, and his name is still held in veneration
by the Welsh, for the services he did their country. Having
cleared the Marches of all the robbers who infested them, and di-

(i) Harwood's Descrip. of Lichfield. Shaw's Staff, vol. i. p. 273.

(2) Anne Lee, eldest daughter of Sir Richard, was the heiress of this
property, and married Edward Sadler, second son of Sir Ralph Sadler :
from them are descended the Earl of Charleville, and the Lords Ashton
and Duually, in the kingdom of Ireland. (See Appendix to " Sir R. Sad-
ler's State Papers" vol. 2. p. 38 1.)

I must not omit that Dame lulyan, or Lady Juhana Beruers, was
priore.-s of Sopewell Kunnerj'. She is called by Bale, illuslrisfemma, and
is thought to have been sister to Richard, Lord Beruers, the translator of
Froissart. She appears to have been the first poetess in England. Her
" Boke of Huntyng," along with a Book of Hawking, aud other plesuris
dwerse, was printed at St. Albans, in i486, fol. and by ^^yukyn de
Worde, in 1496, and was reprinted in black letter in 18 14.

(37 )
vided the principality into counties, he caused it to be united
with England ; and procured an act of parliament that Wales
should be governed by the same laws, and partake of the same
rights and privileges : than which nothing could have happened
more fortunate for the good of the people. He was aftej'wards
accused of treason, by some who envied his worth and greatness,
but was honourably acquitted by the king's council. Bishop Lee
lived till the year i545, when he died at Shrewsbury, at the
house of his brother George Lee, Dean of St. Chad's ; and was
buried in the collegiate churchy before the high altar, under a
tomb of black marble. By virtue of a settlement of his property
made in 5i Hen. VIII., the lands of St. Thomas Priory were di-
vided after his death, among the five sons of Isabella, his sister,
by her husband Roger Fowler.

The name ofFowler is of great antiquity, in England, belonging
to a family of some note and distinction, prior to the i-eign of
King Richard I. Richard Fowler, ofFoxley, in Buckinghamshire,
accompanied that valiant prince in his expedition into Palestine, in
1 190 ; and maintained at his o^vn expense, a certain number of
English bowmen, all his own tenants, to serve in the holy wars, (i)
At the siege of Acre, or Ptolemais, by his exti-a ordinary care
and vigilance, he baffled an attempt of the Infidels to surprise
the Christian camp in the night. In reward of these eminent
services, his royal master knighted him in the field : and caused his
crest, which was the hand and hire, to be changed to the vigi-
lant owl. From him, Roger Fowler, above-mentioned, was des-
cended ; and his great grandson, Walter Fowler, married in 1629,
Constantia, youngest daughter of Walter, first Lord Aston, of
Tixall. (-2) By her, he had thi'ee sons, William, Thomas, and

(1) Wottons's Baronet, vol. 5. p. 102.

(2) King Charles II, at his restoration, intended to institute an order

(58)
Walter; and two daughters, Mary, and Dorothy. He survived
his lady, and dying in 1681, was succeded by his son Walter
Fowler, who mari'ied Maria, daughter of Walter Heveningham,
Esq. of Aston, near Stone. Of his daughters, Mary married
John Betham, Esq. by whom she had an only daughter, Cathe-
rine Betham ; and Dorothy married Thomas Grove, Esq. by
whom she had an only son called Thomas. Their brother Wil-
liam Fowler had no issue; and in 1712, he made a will, by
which he settled an annuity of 5oo/. on his sister Dorothy, for her
life ; and after her death, an annuity of 200/. on her son Thomas
Grove. But at the same time he settled his whole landed es-
tate, subject however to these annuities, on his niece Catherine
Betham, only daughter of his eldest sister Mary ; on condition,
that she and her husband, if she mariied, should bear the name
of Fowler. In 1715, he privately, and to all appeaiance most
unaccountably executed a new will ; by which he revoked the set-
tlement of 1 7 1 2 ; and thus left the succession to his property un-
decided. The year following William Fowler died, leaving his
newwill, perfectly unknown to his friends, in the hands of Chris-
topher Ward, an attorney, of Stafford, whom he had employed
to draw it up. Whether through ignorance, or design, Ward, the
attorney, made no mention of the will of 1715, lodged in his
hands, but obsci'ved a strict silence respecting it till his death,

of knighthood, as a reward to those who had adhered faithfully to him ia
his distresses. They were to be called " Knights of the Royal Oak,"
and were to bear a silver medal, with the device of the king in the oak,
pendant to a ribbon about their necks. But it was thought proper to
lay it aside, lest it might open those wounds afresh, which at that time
it was thought most prudent to heal. Among the names of the intended
knights, with the yearly value of their estates, the sixth is Waller Fow-
ler, Esq. i,5oo/. (Wolton's Baronet, vol. 10. p. o^S. Shaw's Hist,
of Staff, vol I.)

(59)
which hapened in 1724. In 1726, Thomas, Lord Viscount Fau-
conberg, married Catherine Fowler, alias Betham ; styled him-
self Fowler Fauconberg, in compliance with the will of his wife's
uncle, and came into possession of all the Fowler estates, which,
at that time yielded a yearly income of more than 2,000/., and
were considered as very improveable. At this time, Thomas
Grove, the son of Dorothy Fowler, Lady Fauconberg's aunt,
was established in Worcester, where, having fallen into distress, he
followed some business, which hardly afforded him a livelihood j
on which account. Lord Fauconberg generously took upon him •
self the expence of the education of his only child, Rebecca
Grove, and sent her to a convent in France, for that purpose.
But a strange reverse of fortune was shortly to take place ! In
1727, Edward Ward, son of Christopher Ward, the attorney,
looking over his father's papers, discovered the will of 1 7 15, and
communicated it to Lord Aston, of Tixall, who was the princi-
pal trustee for the Fowler estates. About this time, Thomas Grove
died, and his only daughter Rebecca, married Mr. Fitzgerald, an
Irish barrister. The common tradition is, that Lord Aston laid the
will in question before Mr. Fitzgerald for his opinion, who im-
mediately perceived that Rebecca Grove, as representative of her
grandmother Dorothy, sister and coheiress of Walter Fowler,
Avas clearly entitled to one half of the Fowler property, the for-
mer settlement on Catherine Betham, in 1712, having become
null and void, by the subsequent will in 1715: and that, incon-
sequence he paid his addresses to her, and obtained her hand.
After a long suit in chancery, and an appeal to the house of
lords, it was finally determined in 1733, that Lord Fauconberg
should surrender one half of the estate; but should not be liable
to refund any part of the income he had received from it. Upon
this, his lordship dropt the name of Fowler, and losing all relish
for what remained to him of the property, he soon after sold the
priory of St. Thomas to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Her

(4o)

garce dying in 1 744» ^^ft it bywill to hei' grandson, the Hon. John
Spencer, fourth son of Charles, Earl of Sunderland, by Lady-
Anne Churchill, daughter and coheiress of the great Duke of Marl-
borough. His son, created Earl Spencer, in 1765, sold ihe es-
tate of St. Thomas to the father of the present Lord Talbot. The
other moiety has remained with the descendants of Mr, Fitz-
gerald. (1)

The priory of St. Thomas, is situated in a sweet sequestered
valley, watered by the river Sow, under a woody height, which
shelters it from the north and east. Above this wood was a tract
of ground, surrounded by a paling, called St. Thomas Park,
which was bounded on the north and cast by Tixall parish. (2)

(i) TiiallEvId,

The family of Fowler was Roman Catholic ; and Walter Fowler, the
husband of Conslaatia Aston, had for his tutor at St. Thomas, Mr. John
Austin, " a gendeman," says Wood, '^ of singular parts and accomplish-
ments, and a great master of the English tongue. He published several
religious works ; the best known is one in two vols, entitled '' Devotions
in the old TT'aj." Ath. Ox.

Here also resided as chaplain, the Rev. Simon Berrington, author of
that singular performance " The Adventures of Gaudentio di Lucca:"
in which a newL^topia is described in elegant language, and with great fer-
tility of Imagination. It has beentfalsely ascribed to the celebrated Bishop
Berkeley.

(2) Among the extracts from a curious MS. journal of the parliamentary
committee at Staflord, in i643, published by the Rev. S.Shaw, in his
Hist, of Staff, vol. I. p. 69, is the following :

" Jan. 21. — Ordered, that Mr. Henrj' Goringe shall have power and
authoritv from time to time, so often as nccessarie, to fell any timber trees
in Si. Thomas's Park, or within the Lady Stafford's grounds, for the edi^
fying or repairing of any works belonging to this garrison of Stafford."

(4i )

Soon after the property of the Fowlers had passed to the Spen-
cei'S, the old mansion was let to a company of cotton printers,
who in a few years found it expedient to abandon the undertak-
ing. A great part of the priory was then demolished, and the
remainder was altered and fitted up for the residence of a farmer.
On this occasion, the venerable ancient fixtures were sold by
auction ; and some aged persons still commemorate the massive
marble chimney-pieces, from each of which, the purchaser was
enabled to make two or thi-ee in the modern taste. A flower gai-
den now occupies the scite of the great hall; and a balustrade,
with a flight of steps leading from the house to the bank of the
river, is still decorated with two large antique vases, or flower-
pots of very rude sculpture. Some of the buildings appear from
their style of architecture, to be part of the original structure of
the age of Henry II., but no traces can now be found of the church
or cloisters, whose " fretted vaults" once resounded with the
" pealing anthems of the religious ■" and in whose " long-drawn
aisles" the trophied tombs of heroes, statesmen, and bishops,
still served to perpetuate the memory of their talents and virtues.
But the monuments of man are frail and perishable as himself.

Miramur periisse homines ? monumenta fatiscunt !
Interitus saxis nominibusquc venit.

Not man alone — his works decay, '

His towers and temples — pass away.

(4^ )

THE RIVER SOW.

The river Sow, after leaving the priory of St. Thomas, be-
comes the immediate boundary of Tixall parish, for more than
three miles, till it loses its name in the Trent at Shugborough.
It rises in the parish of Madeley, and at Whitmore, where the
respectable family of the Mainwarings has resided for more than
two centuries, it is expanded into a fine piece of water. It next
enters the extensive parish and manor of Swinnerton, and first
meets with Swinnerton Park, a wild woodland tract of more than
800 acres. (1) Beyond this, on a commanding eminence, stands
the mansion of the family of Fitzherbert, a handsome stone edi-
fice, erected about sixty years ago. It enjoys a veiy rich and ex-
tensive prospect of the north-west parts of the county of Stafford,
backed by Shropshire and Cheshire. In the horizon, the lofty
wrekin rears his majestic cone far above the surrounding objects ;
and beyond, on a clear day, may be descried a long range of
mountains in Shropshire and North Wales : of which the most re-
markable is the forked Cordoc, where Caractacus or Caradoc, is
said to have made the last stand against the Romans. (2)

(i) la this Heath, or Park is found the black game, the Letrao-telrix of
Linnaeus, and also on Cannock Cliace.

(2) The family of Fitzherbert is of ancient and noble descent, and has
produced some eminent men. Their founder and progenitor is said to
have been Heriberl, first Earl of Vermaudois, about the year 900. His
son Heriberl married Ogiue, Queen of France, -widow of King Charles
the Simple. Their son Heribert, had two sons, Heribert and Herbert.

(43)
The Sow is a gremial river, having its origin and termination
wthiu the same county ; and is about twentj-tive miles in length

This Heribert was the fourth and last Earl of Vermandois ; and his daugh-
ter and sole heiress married Hugh, son of Hen. I. of France,

Herbert, son of Herbert above-mentioned, was father of Henr\' Fitz-
herbert, chauiberlaia to Hen. I. of England; who married Alix, natural
daughter of that king, by Anna Corbet. (Ex stemm. Fam. de Fitzher-
bert, penes Thorn. Fitzherbert, de Swinnerton, arm.)

Sir Wm. Fitzherbert, son of Henry, obtained from Wm. Ferrars, priou
of the convent of Tutbury, in 1120, a giant of the manor of Norbur\',
near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, to him and his heirs for ever: and here
they resided for about 430 years, till the marriage of Wm. Fitzherbert,
with Isabel, daughter and coheiress of Humphrey Swinnerton, of Swinner-
ton, about the middle of the sixteenth century ; since which time that
place has been the principal seat of this branch of the family. (Erdesw.
Staff.)

Of this family was Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, Knt. the famous judge,
author of " Natura Brevium Novel' in French, i534 ; a work highly
esteemed, and often reprinted: and also of the "Book of Husbandry''
first printed in i534, and many times afterwards in the reigns of Mary and
Elizabeth, but now very scarce. There is a copy in the library at Swin-
nerton. This work obtained for its author the honourable title of Jlie
Father of English Hiubandiy : and was the result of 4o years experi-
ence In agricultural pursuits. " We had little or nothing that resembled
a systematical body of agriculture but Fitzherberts two books, for the space
of 100 years." (Hartes's Essays on Husbandrj-.")

Sir Anthony also published some other useful books on Law. " These
his writings," says Fuller, *' are monumeuts which will longer continue
his memory, thaa the flat blue marble stone in Norbury church, under
which he Hes interred." (" Worthies," Derb.) Sir Anthony Fitz-
herbert died in i538. The mansion of Norbury is now a farm"

F 2

(44)

from its source toils mouth. For the first twenty miles, its course
is almost due-south, after which it inclines a good deal to the

house, but the study of tins laborious and useful man is slill preserved.
It is neatly wainscotted -vvith oak, and on all the panuels are inscribed in
old English characters, select sentences out of scripture, chiefly from
" The Book of Wisdom."

Alice Fitzherbert, sister of Sir Anthony, was the last abbess of
Polesvvorth, which she with great reluctance surrendered to the king's
commissioners, in iSSg. (Dug. "Hist. ofWarw." art. Polesworth.) Of
Nicholas and Thomas Fitzherbert, grandsons of Sir Authony, and authors
of some literary productions, the reader will find an account in Wood's
Athense," in the " Biogr. Brit." and in the " Gen. Biogr. Dictionary."

From a son of the last-mentioned Thomas Fitzherbert, the line has
been continued down to the present time.

The sixth in descent from him, was the late Thomas Fitzherbert, Esq.
who in 1778, married the widow of Edward Weld, Esq. of Lulworth-
castle. This lady, so well known, and so highly respected in the fa-
shionable world, is the daughter of Walter Smythe, Esq. of Brambridge,
in Hampshire ; brother of Sir Edward Smythe, Bart, of Acton-Burnall,
in Shropshire. Her first husband left her a young widow, without any fa-
mily : by her second, she had an only son, who lived but a few months.
Mr. Fitzherbert was an astonishing pedestrian, and being inclined to cor-
pulency, he endeavoured to counteract that tendency, by the most ex-
traordinary bodily exertions, by which he was supposed greatly to have im-
paired his constitution. During the riots iu London, in 1780, his curio-
sity led him on one occasion to mingle with the mob ; and at the close of
the day, being much fatigued and overheated, he had the imprudence to
throw himself into a cold bath, the consequence of which proved fatal.
Symptoms of a consumption and of a rapid decline appearing soon after,
he went with his lady to the south of France, and died at Nice, in 1781.
Since thai event, his widow, Mrs. Fitzherbert, has chiefly resided in En-

(45)

east, and passing between Creswell-hall, (i) the seat of ihe Rev.
T. Whitby, and Seighford, the residence of the family of Eld,
almost encircles the borough of Stallbrd. (2} Soon after leaving

gland. Her long, and intimate, and mysterious connexion -with an illus-
trious personage, has rendered her the topic of general conversation,
more than perhaps any other female of her time ; but by her friends and
relations, and by all those who have ever enjoyed the honour of her ac-
quaintance, she has always been regarded with the most unqualified sen-
timents of approbation and esteem. By the untimely death of her hus-
band, without issue, the Swinnerton estates devolved to his brother Basil,
whose son Thomas Fitzherbert, Esq. is the present possessor.

TheFitzherberts of Tissington, in Derbyshii'e, are descended from a se-
cond son of John Fitzherbert, lord of Norbmy, in the reign of Hen. lU.
This branch of the family has been raised to the dignity of the peerage,
in the person of AUeyne Fitzherbert, Lord St. Helens.

(1) CresweU, Crassa p^allis ; so called from the richness and luxuri-
ance of its pastures.

(2) Stafford, anciently called Stadford, or Statford, Avhich means town-
ford, (from Stadt. a town, Sax.) is a place of great antiquity, and in
Domesday-book, is styled a city. Lye, in his " Saxon Dictionary" says,
that Stafford means Slmii Trajectiis, supposing the river Sow to have been
originally called Stavus or Staffs and for this etymolgy he quotes Baxter
" Gloss. Autiq. Brit." p. ^5, aSi. Dr. Plot's derivation is more fanciful.
Slqffoid, a ford says he, which people could walk through wilh the help
of a staff. Its first name is said to have been Berleliney, or Bethenej;
which is interpreted the Island of Bertelin. This Berthelin was a holy
hermit, who had fixed upon this spot for his residence ; but the fame of
his sanctity altracling numbers to the place, he forsook it, and concealed
himself in the neighbouring wood, where he ended his days in penitential
austerities. (Ang. Sacr. vol. 1 .) The earliest authentic accouut of Staf-
ford, is of the year 913, when Elfleda, sister of Edward the Elder, and

(46)

Staflford, the Sow receives the waters of the Peuk, another gre-
mial river, whoes whole course is not above fourteen miles.

Countess of Mercia, built a castle there ; but the sciteof it is not now
known. (Saxon. Ghron. io4)- Another was founded by ^\illia^l the
Conqueror, on an insulated hill near the town, and was given in custody
to Robert de Toeni, who assumed the name of de Stadford, and was the
progenitor of the Illustrious family of Stafl'ord. — (See note b.) — This castle
was garrisoned by King Charles I. but was taken by the parliamentary
forces, and demolished in i644- Dr. Plot tells us, that during the civil
wars Charles I. and Prince Rupert came to Staflord, and that being in Cap-
tain Richard Sncyd's garden, at the high house there, near the collegiate
chiurch of St. Mary, the prince, at about 60 yards distance, made a shot
at the w cathercock upon the steeple, with a screwed horseman's pistol,
and single bullet ; which pierced its tail, the hole plainly appearing to all
that were below : which the king then judging as a casualty only, the
prince presently proved the contraiy by a second shot to the same effect :
the two holes through the weathercock's tail (as an ample testimony of
the thing) remaining there to this day." (Hist, of Staff, ch. 9.) This
steeple, said to be one of the highest in England, was afterwards blown
down. About thirty years ago, nothing oi the castle remained visible,
but a solitary fragment of a wall, which the late Sir Wm. Jerningham under*
built, to prevent it from falling. Some workmen being employed to search
for an ancient wall, discovered that all the basement story of the castle
lay buried under the ruins of the upper parts. Sir ^^ m. Jerningham im-
mediately ordered the whole to be excavated, and cleared off the rubbish ;
so that the curious traveller may now explore everj' part of it, and con-
template at his leisure the form and extent of a fortress, or baronial cas-
tle, in the time of the conqueror. Sir George Jerningham, son of SirWiU
liam, has undertaken to rebuild the castle on the old foundation, and has
already compleated one front, flanked by two round towers, in a very
elegant castellated style.

c
o

^

>

n

;>

^

( 47 )
Drayton, in his Polyolbion, has celebrated their junction in the
following lines :

----- As Sow, whicli from her spring,
At Stafford meeteth Penk, which she along doth bring
To Trent hy Tixall graced, the Astons' ancient seat j
Which oft the Muse hath found a safe and sweet retreat.

Enlarged by the stream of the Penk, the Sow proceeds in a
smooth and tranquil course through the retired vale of St. Tho-
mas ; and having passed under the Stafford and Worcester Canal,
through the arches of an aqueduct at Milford, it flows under Tix-
all Bridge, dividing the parish from Cannock Heath. It then en-
ters the beautiful demesne of Shugborough, whose groves and
temples it reflects in its glassy stream through the remainder of its
its course.

CANNOCK HEATH.

Cannock, pronounced Cank, probably takes its name from
two Saxon wordS; cann to be able, mighty, powerful; and ac,
cec, or oc, an oak, from the vast number of oaks with which it was
formerly covered, (i) A power of any thing meaning a great
quantity, is an expression still in use ; and this extensive
waste is often called Cank wood at this day, though that ap-
pellation is gradually giving way to the more appropriate
denomination of Cank Heath.

Being situated nearly in the centre of England, it is plausibly
conjectured by Dr. Wilkes, to have been a principal seat of
the Druids : and this idea is considerably strengthened from the

(i) So Canwell, also iu this couatyj means a poweifUl spring. Dr.
Plot, who appears to have been a superficial etymologist, derives Can-
nock from King Canute, the Dane.

( 48 )

cii'cumstance that the names of several places iu its vicinity have
the word col prefixed to them : as Colfield, Colton, Coley, CoU
wich ; which word in the Celtic and British language, signifies
holy.

At what period the devestation of its verdant shades took place,
is not clearly ascertained. Drayton bewails the loss in the 12th
song of Polyolbion ; where he also seems to allude, in his
allegorical manner, to the notion of its having been a seat of the
Druids. In the year 1675, an elegant Latin poem, entitled
" Iter Boreale" was published by Mr. Masters, in which the ge-
neral appearance of Cannock Heath is very accurately described
in the following classical and picturesque lines :

Hinc mihi mox ingens Ericeium complet ocellos,
Sylva olim, passim Nymphis habitata ferisque j
Condensae quercus, domibus res nala struendis,
Ornandoque foco, et validse spes unica classis.
Nunc umbris immissa dies ; namque sequore vasto,
Ante, relro, dexlra, laeva, quo lumina cumque
Verleris, una linmili consurgit vertice planta,
Furpureoque Erice lellurem vestit amictu.
Dum floret, siiaves et naribus afflat odores,
Haec ferimus saltern amissa; solatia sylvae.

Pennant, in his " Journey from Chester to London,." has in-
sei'ted a translation of these verses by thePiev. Richard Williams,
of Vron , in Flinsthire, which are not at all inferior to the original ■

A vast and naked plain confines the view.
Where trees unnumbered in past ages grew ;
The green retreat of wood-nymphs, once the boast.
The pride, the guardians of their native coast.
Alas ! how changed ! each venerable oak
Long since has yielded to the woodman's stroke.
Where'er the cheerless prospect meets the eyCj
No shrub, no plant, except the heath is nigh :

(49)

The solitary healh alone is there.
And wafts its sweetness on the desert air.
So sweet its scent, so rich its purple hue.
We half forget that here a forest grew.

Cannock Heath is now almost destitute of wood, except iu
those skirts of it, which lie contiguous to Tixall, and Shugbo-
rough, where some romantic forest scenery, and sylvan glades
are still to be met with. It may therefore be described, in its
present state, as a large heathy waste, containing about 25,ooo
acres. It abounds in coal, and has some beds of limestone. The
herbage, which is very short, affords but scanty subsistence to
about 5,000 deer, which run wild, and to numberless sheep 3 all
the freeholders having an unlimited right of common. In one
part there is an extensive rabbit-warren. As the sheep often return
home diseased, and infect the flock which was left behind ^ and
as the deer are compelled to invade the inclosures and gardens
which border on the chase, for a subsistence ; we may fairly pre-
sume that this common is rather an injury than a benefit to the
neighbouring freeholders. How disgraceful therefore is it, that,
in this enlightened age of cultivation and improvement, and when
the interests of agriculture are the object of general attention from
the monarch to the peasant — how disgraceful, that such a tract of
countiy should be suffered to remain, and in the very heart of this
populous and manufacturing county, not only unproductive, but
a burden on the community !

From Dugdale's valuable History of Warwickshire, (art. Ches-
terton) and from evidences at Tixall, I am enabled to give the fol-
lowing account of the rangers, or keepers of this ancient forest or
chase, from the time of the Conquest.

Soon after that memorable event, Richard Chinew, styled by
reason of his office, venator etforestarius, had a third part of Ches-
terton, and other lands, given to him by the Conqueror, in ser-?

C5o )

jeanty, viz. : by the service of keeping the forest of Cannock,
and paying ten marks yearly to the king, for the baily wick thereof,
and for the said lands he so held. This Richard Chinew had one
daughter, married to IValter Crok, who gave three marks of
gold to King Stephen, pro rehabendo ministerio suo ; that is, to
recover his office of forrester in Cannock Chase.

To Walter Crok, succeeded William, his son and heir, who
gave all his lands at Wirley, in Staffordshire, to the monks of
Radmore, in the said forest^ which was a Cistercian abbey,
lately founded there by Ralph, Earl of Chester. Notwithstand.
ing this act of piety, William Crok was afterwards hanged for fe-
lony, and his estates and office were foi-feited to the king, who how-
ever gave his sister in marriage to Robert de Broc, and with her
the forfeited property of her brother. This Robert de Broc was a
man of note, and is styled Marescallus Anglice, et Forestarius
de Cannock. He died 5 Rich. I., leaving an only daughter mar-
ried to Hugh de Loges; who, in consideration of his having paid
sixty marks towards the ransom of King Richard, had the lands of
Robert de Broc, his father in law, and the custody of the forest
of Cannock surrendered to him. (i)

King John occasionally resided in or near this forest, probably
for the purpose of enjoying the pleasures of the chase : and Hugh
de Loges held five tenements near Coventry, of the Earl of Ches-
ter, by the service of conducting the said earl towards the king's
court, through the midst of the forest ; meeting him at Radford-

(i) There appears to have been a castle in early times upon Cannock
Forest, where the first kings of the Norman race occasionally resided.
This castle still existed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. See a curious
ancient record of the offices under that queen, in Pecks " Desiderata Cu-
riosa," vol. i. p. ■jo, one of which is The Constable of Cajinock Castle, in
Staffordshire.

(5. )
bridge, near Stafford, on notice of his coming, and at Hopwas-
bridge, near Tamworth, on his return; for which service, he
was moreover entitled to receive from the earl, each time he
should so attend him, a barbed arrow ; and the earl might, if he
pleased, kill a deer in going, and another on returning back.
Hugh de Loges was in ai'ms against King John, during the tur-
bulent times towards the end of his reign : for which offence,
the forestership of Cannock was seized into the king's hands : but
by a precept dated 1 7 John, it was appointed, that in case he
found good pledges for the sure custody of that forest, it should
be restored. After his death, Hugh his son and heir held the of-
fice in serjeanty, as his ancestors had done, and received a com-
mand from King Henry III., to permit William Fitzwalkelin, to
enter his hart-hounds for hunting the stag, in his bailywickj
whence it would appear, that at that time, red deer inhabited this
forest. This Hugh de Loges was the last of his family who held the
stewardship and bailiwick of Cannock Chase, which King Henry
disposed of to Sir Thomas Wesehani, Knt. and his heirs ; and
they, it is said, passed away the inheritance 12 Edw. I to Philip
de Montgomeri, the king confirming the grant.

There seems however great reason to doubt whether this trans-
fer took place ; for which Dugdale only gives the authority of a
private autograph, penes IVm. de Cumberford. On the contra-
ry, it is highly probable that this office devolved from Sir Thomas
de Weseham, either by will or inheritance, to Roger de Wese-
ham, Bishop of Lichfield, and was by him annexed to that see.
Possibly, Philip de Montgomeri may have been appointed de-
puty keeper, pro tempore, which would equally require the con-
firmation of the king. Certain it is, that about that time, Can-
nock Forest became an appendage of the bishopric of Lichfield ;
and that Roger de Molend, who succeeded to that see on the re-
signation of Weseham, in 1257, granted to Roger de Ast07i,of

(52)

Haywood, and his heirs for ever, the title and office of heredi-
tary master and ruler oj the game of Cankwood, with a right to
theumbles of all the deer killed thereon, and a certain number of
loads of wood every year, for fuel and repairs, (i)

In 11 Hen. 7. the Bishop of Lichfield disputing Sir John
Aston's title of hereditary master and ruler of the game of Can-
nock Wood, the principal gentlemen of Staffordshire signed the
following certificate, •\vhich by reason of its antiquity, and the
eminence of the persons certifying, it may not be improper to
insert : —

" To all Christen people to whom this present writing shall
come: — WeeEdwarde Lord Dudley, John, Abbot of Croliesden,
George, Abbot of Roucester, Thomas, Prior of Trentham, Roger,
Prior of Ronton, William Littleton, Knt. Hugh Egerton, Sqyer,
Humfrey Pershall, Sqyer, William Dethick, Sqyer, John Har-
court, Sqyer, John Mitton, sheriff of the county of Stafl'ord,
Sqyer, Richard Wrottesley, Sqyer, William Astley, Sqjer, John
Egerton, rider of the Cankewood, Sqyer, Raulf Wolseley, Sqyer,
John Draycote, Sqyer, Hugh Erdeswicke, Sqyer, Lewes Paget,
Sqyer, Thomas Harcourt, Sqyer, Humfrey Okeover, Sqyer, John
Swynerlon of Iswale, Sqyer, Robei't Wodde of Keel, Gent. John
Draycote, bailiff of Haywood, Gent. John Asheby of Stafford,
Gent. Robert Dorington of Coton, Gent. Rauf Downc, Gent.
Thomas Rowdon, and Roger Buttere, late bailifls of the town of
Stafford, Thomas Bolwick, Gent, deputy to John Aston, Richard
Dutton, oon of the keepers of Cankewodde, John Ellesmere, an-
oder of the keepers of Cankewood, John Snowe, late a keeper of
the Cankewodde, Reynold Weston, oon of the keepers of the
Cankewoode, William Wolseley of the Canke, late a keeper of

(i) Tixall Evid.

(53)
Cankewoode, William Whitby, late oon of the keepers of the
Cankewoode, John Weston of Tixsall, oon of the keepers of
the same Wodde : William Holt of Bersden, yeoman, send
gretyng in our lord everlasting. And forasmuch as we be in-
formed that divers debats and variance resten between the Right
Reverent Fader in God, late Bishop of Chester, and John As-
ton of Heywode, in the county of Stafford, Sqyer, of, for and
upon the right, title and possession of the office of the mastership
of the game and rule of the Cankewodde : That is to say, whe-
ther oon John Aston, late deceased, fader to the seid John Aston
that now is on life, should have and be seized inhislif, and at tyme
of hisdeth, the kaping, rule and governaunce of the said Canke-
wodde and game or no. And bycause it is necessarie, requisite
duty, meritorious to every man, to scy and showe the truth of
every thyng that he is required unto, as far forth as they knowe :
We thei-efore certifyeand showe of very troth, that we knowe well
that the seid John Aston late deceased, fader to the seid John As-
ton, now oon life, was seazcd of the seid office, rule and game.
And that the seid John his son entred into the same after his deth,
and hath had the possession thereof, and yet hath j and we know
also, by the continual making of officers under hym, and ruyling
the game the while he liffed, and also by taking of the fees of
venyson, and so has continued; and by diverse obligations to
hym made by suche persons as had offended within the office,
duiyrng his tyme, for their abeyreing. — And all these premisses
be as well knowen by the substance of all the countrey, as by us •
and it openly shewed, and ever hath ben ther, that the said John,
latedisceased, had the same office granted to his ancestors, and
to their heirs for ever in fee, by the predecessors of the said bi-
shop and chapter then beying, and so have coutenued it sithen
till now. — All the which premisses, as fer forth as it is aforesaid,
and as we know, we be and will be redy to showe and sey, when
shall be reqvi^red to tlie same. In witness whereof to this pre-

(54)

sent our seyiug and writeing, have sette our scales the eight day
of" Jung, the nth yer of King Henry the 7lh."

Underneath were set the hands and seales of several persons be-
foi'e recited.

After the Reformation, William, Lord Paget, obtained a grant
of Cannock Wood, Beaudesert Park, and other property of the
bishoprick; but the rights of the Aston family remained un-
touched and undisputed. On the attainder of Thomas, Lord
Paget, and the forfeiture of all his property to the crown, it
was thought proper to draw up the following " Certificate,
touching the Mastership of the Game of Cankewood, 6. Oct'.
56. Eliz. A.D. 1594.

" To all Christian people to whom this Present shall come to
be seen, read, or heard, whose names are herein contained, and
subscribed with our hands and seals, greeting in our Lord God
everlasting. "Whereas it is a thing very fit and convouient for all
men to witness the truth in such cases, whereof either for the pre-
sent, or in time to come, there may arise any question or doubt;
for that we understand that the inheritance of Cankewood and
Bewdesert Park, with many other things, are come to the hands
of our most gracious sovereign lady. Queen Elizabeth, upon the
attainder of Thomas, Lord Paget : And therefore in that her ma-
jesty's officers should be truly informed what interest any man
hath, or continually hath used or enjoyed therein : We do tes-
tify thus much upon our knowledge, and upon a true and certain
information, that Sir Edward Aston, Knt. now presently living,
Sir Walter Aston, Km. his father, and Sir Edward Aston, Knt.
his grandfather, and all his ancestors since the igth year of King
Edward the First, have exercised, used, and enjoyed the ollice
of master of the game, in the Cankewood and Bewdesert Paik, as
in punishing such as do offend, in taking bonds of such as hunt
unlawfully there for their good behaviour to the game, in appoint-
ing a keeper to walk, and have care of the game ; in serving

(55)
many warrants, in taking as his fee deer, one buck, and one doe
yearly, in Bewdesert Park j and also the umbles of all deer killed
either in Cankewood, or Bewdesert Park; by taking as his fee,
all deer killed by casualty or mischance, and other things belong-
ing to that office. All which is well kno%^Ti to all the country as
well as to us. And that these things above written have been ad-
mitted and allowed without contradiction by William, Lord
Paget, during his life, and by Thomas, Lord Paget, until five or
six years before his departure out of England : at which time,
upon some other controversies betwixt the said Thomas, Lord
Paget, and Sir Walter Aston, he did not willingly allow of his
office of master of game : yet notwithstanding that he did not
allow thereof, yet Sir Walter Aston did use and enjoy his office
until his death ; and Sir Edward Aston doth presently enjoy it
even until this day. And thus much for the certifying a tnith, we
are ready to witness, that is to say, etc. etc."

[Here followed the names, being those of the principal gen-
tlemen of the county at that time.]

Many subsequent litigations took place between the Pagets and
the Astons, re.specling this office ; whenin theyear 1712, a com-
promise was entered into between them, at the recommendation
of the court of chancery : and Walter, fourth Lord Aston^ agreed
to wave all claim to the mastership of the game, and to accept
in lieu thereof, four fee bucks, every year from the chase, to be
delivered to him whole and entire at his mansion at Tixall,
without fee or reward, by the keeper of Cankwood, unless he
should prefer to take them by hunting ; in which case, the said
keepers were required to attend him, and gave him their assist-
ance. On this footing the matter has rested ever since.

An irregular piece of ground with a paling round it, called
Haywood Park, lies between Cannock Heath and Shugborough.
It incloses a romantic dale, with a limpid brook rambling through
it, encircled by lofty woody banks, presenting a rich amphitheatre

( 56 )
of umbrageous oaks. The sight of it always tempts me to exclaim
with Virgil —

Rura milii et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes,
Flumina amem s^flvasque inglorius. O ubi campi,
Sperchinsque, et virginibiis bacchata Lacoenis
Tay geta ! O quis me gelidis in vallibus Hoemi
Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra!

This spotj now the property of the Marquis of Anglesea, was
formerly the red deer-park of the bishops of Lichfield.

About thirty years ago, a poor man, whom accident had ren-
dered incapable of labour, built himself a hut of turf, covered
with heath, on an elevated spot, which commands an extensive
view of some of the wildest parts of Cannock Chase, and from
which you look down on the sheltered sylvan scenery just des-
cribed. He soon acquired the appellation of the hermit of Can-
nock Heath, His wants were small, and he subsisted entirely
on the casual charity of visitors, whom curiosity attracted to his
humble dwelling. Being of a contemplative and i-eligious turn
of mind, and imfitted by his infirmities for long or severe ma-
nual labour, he devoted much of his time to reading ■ but his li-
brary consisted only of two books, the Bible, and Robinson
Crusoe, whom he considered as his model. He contrived to tame
a hare, and like the poet Cowper, who imagined the same amuse-
ment to soothe his hours of melancholy dejection, he made the
timid ci'eature so familiar, that in the wintry season, when his
hut and the surrounding heath were buried under snow, she would
spoi't upon his hearth, and play with him like a kitten. But poor
puss was fated to meet with an untimely end ! Straying one day
too far from home, she fell in with a pack of hounds, who pur-
sued her with blood-thirsty swiftness, and killed her at the very
door of the hermitage to which she fled for protection. The
owner of the pack, (the late George Anson, Esq.) no sooner

(57)
heard of the sorro^Yful accident, than he ordered the mani^led
remains of the unfortunate animal to be delivered to the afllict-
ed hermit, together -vs'ith a present. The poor man buried
his favourite with many tears in a corner of his garden, and
erected a plain monument over her grave, with an epitaph in
verse, composed by himself, of which these were the two con-
cluding lines :

Each day she did around my bumble cot attend,
She was my sole companion, and my silent friend.

By degrees the curiosity of the neighbourhood abated ; the an-
chorite was forgot, and at last obliged by want and increasing
infirmities to seek a refuge in the work-house, where he soon
ended his days. The simple tomb he had erected is now le-
velled with the dust which it covered ; the hut itself has disap-
peared ; and nothing remains to mark the place, but the
birch and alder which he planted, and of which he had formed
a fence to protect his little garden from the inroads of the deer.
These trees are now grown up into a wild natural clump, and
waving on the breezy simimit, add a picturesque feature to the
uninhabited and dreary waste.

H

(58)

SHUGBOROUGH.

The last boundary of Tixall parish which remains to be des-
cribed, is the demesne of Shugborough, the magnificent seat of
Lord Viscoimt Anson ; to the beauties of which, whether of na-
ture or art, it is difficult to do justice by the most exact or most
elaborate vei'bal description.

Here hills and vales, the iTOodland and the plain,
Here earth and water seem lo strive again :
Not chaos-like, together crushed and bruised,
But as the world, harmoniously confused.
Where order in variety we see.
And where though all things differ, all agree.
Here, waving groves a checkered scene display.
And part admit, and part exclude the day )
There, interspersed in lawns, and opening glades,
Thin trees arise which shun each other's shades j
Here, in full light the russet plains extend,
There, wrapt in clouds the bluish hills ascend.
E'en the wild heath displays her purple dies )
And midst the desert fruitful fields arise.
That crowned with tufted trees, and springing corn.
Like verdant isles the sable waste adorn, (i)

Shugborough, anciently written Sowborough, and so called
from its situation at the mouth of the river Sow, was one of the
palaces of the bishops of Lichfield ^ and was built by Walter de
Langton, bishop of that diocese in the reign of Edward L It
was a part of the plunder of the bishoprick given by Edward VL

(i) Pope's Windsor Forest.

(59)
to Lord Paget ; and the arlificial ruins on the banks of the Sow,
just opposite the back-front of the present mansion, are said to
mark the scite of the ancient palace.

The family of Anson, though very ancient and respectable in
this county, was not settled at Shugboi'ough, till the reign of
James I. about the year 1620. At this time, William Anson,
Esq. of Dunston, near Penkridge, having purchased the manor
of Shugborough, made it his principal residence. He also bought
two manoi's in Warwickshire, of Sir Walter Aston, Kt. Bart,
which he afterwards disposed of to William Cumbei'ford, Esq.
of Tam worth. (1)

By the memorable atchievements of the first Lord Anson, to-
wards the middle of the last century, the name will be immortal
in the naval annals of England. Lord Anson was the youngest
son of William Anson, Esq. of Shugborough, and great grand-
son of William Anson, Esq. of Dunston, above-mentioned. As
he discovered veiy early in life an ardent passion for naval glory,
and seemed to take the greatest delight in hearing and reading the
stories of our most distinguished navigators and admirals, his fa-
ther gave him an education correspondent to his disposition and
genius. He was soon appointed to a command in the navy, and
behaved on everys tation in which he was employed, with the great-
est intrepidity and valour. On his return from his perilous but
successful expedition in the South Seas, he was successively pro-
moted to the highest honours of his profession. In the year 1747,
he intercepted a powerful French fleet off Cape Finisterre, which
he completely defeated. Not one of the enemy escaped. Two
of the French ships were called U Invincible^ and La Gloire,
Jonquiere, the admii'al, one of the ablest and most intrepid
officers in the service, on presenting his sword lo the conqueror,

(i) Dug. Warw.

(Co)
pointed to these two vessels, and with equal wit and address, said
to Lord Anson, ^^ Monsieur, vous at>ez vaincu V Invincible j et
la Gloire vous suit."

The last service which Lord Anson performed, was that of con-
voying to England her present majesty Queen Charlotte. He
married a daughter of the Earl of Hardwicke, who died befoi-e
him without issue. Soame Jenyns, author of the " View of
the Internal Evidences of Christianity," and of a " Poem on
Dancing" wrote some stanzas on this marriage, from which! shall
quote the two first :

Victorious Anson, see returns

From the subjected main !
With joj each British bosom burns,

Fearless of France and Spain.

Honours, his grateful sovereign's hand,

Conquest, his own bestows ;
Applause unfeigned, his native land,

Unenvied wealth, her foes.

Mallet also published a poem on the death of Lady Anson, in
1761, addressed to her father Lord Hardwicke; in which heat-
tempts to describe the feelings of Lord Anson on that occasion,
in the following lines :

And he, who long unshaken, and serene,
Had death in each dire form of terror seen.
Through worlds unknown o'er uuknown oceans tost :
By love subdued, now weeps his consort lost :
Now sunk to fond(iess all the man appears.
His front dejected, and his soul in tears.

This illustrious man, who had been for some time in a lan-
guid state of health, died suddenly, just after walking in his gar-

(6i )
flen, at his seat called Mooi' Park, in Hertfordshire, on the 6th
of June, 1762.

Lord Anson was remarkable for his calm, cool, and steady tem-
per, in the most trying occasions j though it was said of him, that
like an honest unsuspecting sailor, he was sometimes the dupe ot
sharpers, and other designing persons ; on which account it was
wittily observed, ' ' That though he had been round the world, he
had nether been in it." No literary work ever met with a more fa-
vourable reception from the public, than " Lord Anson's Voyage
round the World ;" it has been translated into most of the Euro-
pean languages, and still supports its z'eputation. It was com-
posed by Mr. Benjamin Robins, under his lordship's own inspec-
tion, and from the materials which he furnished. (1)

The authors of the '^' Dictionnaire des Honimes Celebres,"
though in general very much prejudiced in favour of their own
countrymen, have paid the following just tribute of applause to
the memory of Lord Anson : — <■' La gloire de I'amiral Anson,
ne fut pas seulement fondee sur le succes de ses armes, sur sa va-
leur, sur son intrepidite ; il fut homme de bien : il respecta I'hu-
manite lors meme que son bras s'armoit pour la detruire. On
pourroit citer plusieurs actions de vertu, et de generositc, qui
honoreroicnt sa memoire, si la nature de cet ouvrage ne nous
prescrivoit des bornes trop etroites. II est a souhaiterque quelque
bon ecrivain se charge de transmettre a la posterite les actions de
ce grand homme."

Lord Anson was buried in the family vault in the village church
at Colwich. His portrait is in the dining-room at Shugborough.
The celebrated Lavater, in his ingenious essays, expresses much
admiration of the countenance of this great man ; and has in-

(i) Biog. Brit, art Auson.

(62 )

serted his portrait in the list of those which he recommends to the
attentive consideration of all lovers of the science of physiog-
nomy.

Thomas Anson, Esq. the elder brother of Lord Anson, was
possessed of a moderate^butin those times an independent fortune ;
and not choosing to shackle himself in the bonds of matrimony,
spent a considerable part of his youth in visiting foreign climes :
and is said to have explored the coasts of Egypt, and to have sailed
a considerable way up the Kile. As he travelled over the same
countries, so he appears to have derived the same advantage
from his travels as Ulysses :

Wandering from clime to clime observant strayed,
Their manners noted, and their states surveyed, (i)

Mr. Anson had a highly cultivated mind, and was particularly
fond of the society of men of genius, learning, and science. In
the year 1 762, he succeeded to a vast property, by the death of his

(i) Harris, the author of "Hermes," and other very learned and
Ingenious works, relates that Mr. Anson informed him, that during
the time of his travels in Greece, he hired a vessel and a pilot to
make the tour of the Grecian Isles ; and that during their cruise, hav-
ing approached the island of Tenedos, the pilot on a sudden said
to him. It was there oiirjleet lay. TJhat fleet ? said Mr. Anson : what
fleet! why our peet at the siege of Troy.

How well was Homer acquainted with the genius of his nation, when
he put into the mouth of Hector, that noble speech in the seventh book
of the Iliad, where in the compass of a few lines he expresses all the
feelings of ambition, all the enthusiasm of glory, which ever animated
the breast of a hero :

You then, O princes of the Greeks appear,
Tis Hector speaks, and calls the gods to hear:

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brother Lord Anson, who had previously increased his patrimo-
ny by several liberal donations. He immediately determined on
enlarging his mansion at Shugborough, to a size more suitable to
his increased fortune and opulence ; and at the same time con-
ceived the noble project of embellishing the whole surrounding
country. In the progress of these improvements, he clothed the
steep naked skirts of Cannock Healh, called the Satnell Hills, with
large plantations of fir and beech ; and erected a lofty obelisk in
Haywood Park, which was at once a land mark, and a pleasing
object to the eye on every side. It is now unfortunately blown
down, (i)

About this time, that ingenious architect, James Stuart, com-
monly called the Athenian^ returned to England, and brought

From all your troops select the boldest knight.

And him, the boldest, Hector dares to fight. —

And if Apollo, in whose aid I trust,

Shall stretch your daring champion in the dust ;

If mine the glory to despoil the foe,

On Phcebus' temple I'll his arms bestow :

The breathless carcase to your navy sent,

Greece on the shore shall raise a monument; ,

Which when soxae future mariner surveys

Washed by broad Hellespont's resounding seas.

Thus shall he say, " a valiant Greek lies there.

By Hector slain the mighty man of war."

The stone shall tell your vanquished hero's name.

And distant ages learn the victor's fame.

Pope's//, b. 7. 1. 58.

(i) Gilpin, in his " Picturesque Tour," vol. i. has given a description
of Shugborough ; but it has been greatly altered and improved since he
wrote.

(64)

home -with him his correct and beautiful drawings of the princi-^
pal architectural remains of ancient Greece. He was invited to
Shugborough, and under his direction a monument after the mo^
del of Adrian's Arch, at Athens, was erected in a conspicuous
spot, to the memory of Lord Anson. It is called the " Tri-
imiphal Arch ■" and is decorated with medallions of white mai'-
ble, emblematic of naval victoi'ies. Above the arch is a kind of
colonade, divided into three compartments ; of which, the cen-
tre is occupied by a military trophy, and the sides by sarco-
phagi, ornamented with the busts of Lord and Lady Anson : the
whole of white marble. From Stuart's designs, buildings were
also erected in imitation of the "" Choragic Monument of Lysi-
crates," called from its shape, " The Lanthorn ofDemosthenes •"
and of the " Octagon Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes," better
known by the name of "■ The Temple of the Winds." (i)

Mr. Anson died at an advanced age, leaving his noble property
to his nephew George Adams, Esq. who took the name of Anson,
and was succeeded by his son the present Viscount.

Besides the elegant and classical monuments above-mentioned,
which are at a considerable distance from the mansion, there are
several tasteful buildings and seats in the Pleasure Grounds, and
many valuable pictures, and antique statues in the house. Four
of the most capital statues are in the vestibule to the dining-room,
which represent Paris, Amphitrite, Neptune, and a Faun and
Satyr. By the side of these, is a beautiful Bacchus^ by Nollekens ;
on the base of which, in imitation of the ancient sculptors,
he has inscribed his name in Greek characters, Noxxf«»vot itou,, per-
haps with the conscious sentiment of having executed a statue
worthy to be classed with the iinest remains of ancient Greece ;

(i) See Stuart's " Autiq. of Athens," chap. 3. tab. i and 3, aud chap.
I and 3.

(65)
the sentiment which inflamed the breast of Correggio, when, on
beholding the masterpieces of Raphael, he exclaimedj Ed io
anche son pittore.

"Among a great number of statues, says Pennant, an Adonis,
and a Thalia, are the most capital. There is also a very fine figure of
Trajan, intheattitude of haranguing his army. The numberof rude
Etruscan figures in the garden, show the extravagance of the earliest
ages, and the great antiquity of the art of sculpturcjinltaly, long
before the Romans became a people. The beautiful monument in
the lower end of the garden does honour to the present age. It
was the work of Mr. Schemeeker, under the direction of the late
Mr. Anson. The scene is laid in Arcadia. Two lovers, expressed
in ancient pastoral figures, appear attentive to an ancient shep-
herd, who reads to them an inscription on a to\nb : Et in Ar-
cadia ego. The moral resulting from this seems to be, that there
are no situations in life so delicious, but which death must at
length snatch us from, (i) It was placed here by the amiable
owner as a memento of the certainty of that event. Perhaps also
as a secret memorial of some loss of a tender nature in his early
days ; for he was wont often to hang over it in affectionate and
firm meditation. (2). The Chinese house, a little further on, is

(i) Peanant seems not to have kno^Mithat this is the subject of a beau-
tiful painting by Poussin, which is highly extolled by the judicious Abbe
Du Bos, in his excellent work, " Reflexions surla Poesle et la Peinture."

(2) This opinion is the more probable from the following mysterious in-
scription on the top of the monument, which Pennant has omitted to

notice :

O. U. O. S. V. A. V. V.

D. M.

The meaning of these letters, Mr. Anson would never explain ; and
they still remain an enigma to posterity.

I

(66)

a true pattern of the architecture of that nation, taken in the
country by the skilful pencil of Sir Percy Brett." (i)

Among the paintings are two capital pictures by Guitlo : Su-
sanna and the Elders ; and St. Peter in Prison; two by Dome-
nichiuoj a landscape by Claude Lorrain ; landscapes by Nich.
and Gasp. Poussin ; and several pieces by Vanderveldt, Teniers,
and other eminent masters, both ot the Italian and Flemish schools.
But the wonder of this collection are the paintings of the present
Lady Anson ; of whose pencil there are not less than five finished
productions displayed in these apartments. One is a copy from
Teniers j the suh']ect y4nthonj visiting Paul in the Desert ; and
executed before her ladyship had attained the fifteenth year of
her age. Another, is a group, representing her three oldest chil-
dren, taken from life ; a third, is a large Landscape ; Cattle in
a storm, from Loutherbourg.

The exertions and improvements of Thomas Anson, Esq. above
described, though very great, yet appear (rifling, when compared
with those of the present possessor. His lordship has added a magni-
ficent portico of ten fluted columns, of the Corinthian order, to the
front of his house ; without destroying the symmetry of the edifice,
has joined to it two noble apartments ; one, a drawing-room,
46 feet by 28 ; the other a saloon, 54 by -22 ; supported on each
side by six columns of Scagliola marble. The old village of Shug-
borough, which stood inconveniently near, has been entirely re-
moved to a distant eminence ; (2) and a new street has been
formed in the village of Great Haywood, closed at one end with
handsome iron gates. His lordship has cut a new channel for the

(i) " Jour, from Chest, to Loudon."

(2) This village, which stands oathe high ground between Great and Little
Haywood, near Wolseley-bndge, on the road from Loudon to Liverpool^
is worthy of the attention of the traveller. It does not consist like other

(6? )

river Sow, for a considerable distance ; and has removed a stone
bridge of three arches, which crossed that river at Hollisfoi'd, to a
nioi-e convenient spot, about half a mile higher up the stream.
He has erected lodges at the entrance of the principal approaches
to Shugborough, which are much admired : and has diverted a
part of the great public road from London to Chester, (between
Lichfield and Stafford) which ran through his grounds, and has
turned it across Cannock Heath, through a mountainous defile,
which strikes the traveller with admiration, not only from its
natural wildness, but by the extraordinary contrast it exhibits
with the richly-cultivated scenery at each extremity of the pass.

Many formidable obstacles pi'esented themselves against the ac-
complishment of these princely undertakings : but his lordship
inherits the enterprising spirit, which animated, and supported
the indefatigable exertions of his far-famed ancestor ; who took
for his ma^im, that heroic exclamation of Teucer — Nil despe-
randum — which afterwards, on his elevation to the peerage, he
most appropriately adopted for the family motto.

Having detained the reader, perhaps too long, in the preceding
description of the Boundaries, by which, as with a splendid and

villages, of a number of scattered dwellings, but is one building, inclos-
ing a court, into which the front doors of all the cottages open. In the
middle is a public oven, and a place for fuel opposite the door of each cot-
tage. Every cottage has a garden, or piece of ground at the back; and
one of them is a school for the children of the village. From a gate,
on the other side of the road, opposite the village, there is a delightful
view of the vale of Shugborough, bounded by Tixall.

Lord Anson's experimental farm, is also an object of no small curiosity,
and yields to few of the kind in England.

I 2

(68)
magnificent frame, the parish of Tixall is so happily surrounded,
it is now time to proceed to the contemplation of the picture itself.
For this pui'pose, I shall begin by considering its soil and si-
tuation.

The parish of Tixall enjoys the advantage of a southern aspect,
rising by a gradual acclivity towards the north, and dropping
eastward to the Trent, and westward to the river Sow. It con-
tains a great variety of soil. The eastern side is a stiff clay, very
favourable to the growth of wheat j the western is a light gravel,
well suited to the cultivation of barley and turnips : on the north,
adjoining Hopton Heaih, there is a selvage ofpoor, moorish
ground ; but to the south, south-west, and south-east, the parish
terminates in a tract of rich meadow land, stretching about three
miles in length, and watered by the two rivers above-mentioned.
The soil of the centre, and principal part of the parish, is a
rich loam, adapted to every kind of husbandry. It has a sub-
stratum of rocky marl, from fifteen to thirty feel thick; and be-
neath this, is abed of beautiful freestone, nearly of equal thick-
ness. The marl cannot be obtained without dilficulty and ex-
pence, on account of its hardness: when dug out of the pit, it is
broken into small pieces, and thrown like stones upon the ground ;
but after it has been exposed to the operation of frost, it quickly
dissolves, and the plough easily incorporates it with the soil.
This manure is of so permanent a nature, that a field properly
dressed with it, is said to want no further assistance for twenty
years.

The freestone yields to none in England for the beauty of its
grain and colour ; it is soft, and easily wrought when first taken
out of the quarry, but after it has been exposed to the air it be-
comes hard and durable. The ornamental parts of the old build-
ings at Tixall, which have stood above aSo years, do not appear
at all defaced, and exhibit no marks of the injuries of time.

(69)
Since the completion of the canals in this neighbourhood, this
stone has found its way to a considerable distance. The county-
hall, and hotel, and all the stone-work of the gaol, at Stafford,
are built of it ; as is also the new bridge at Radford, near Stafford,
on the great road from London to Chester ; and many other
bridges and private houses in the country. It has even been
transported to Birmingham, to build the cupola of St. Philip's
church in that town ; and to Worcester, where it forms the bat-
tlements and ballustrades of the beautiful bridge over the Severn
in that city. The proprietor receives a mine-rent of 2s. 6d. or 3s.
for each cubic yard, the weight of which is about a ton. (i)

The parish of Tixall has undergone most striking alterations,
and material improvements during the last sixty years. About the
year 1740^ it was distributed as follows : Behind the house, there
was a deer-park of about 600 acres, covered with stately oaks, and
large thickets of very luxuriant go rse ; west of the house, was a
rabbit-warren of more than 400 acres ; the farm-houses were all
situated in the village, except two, called Haiijard and Brancotef
by which names they are distinguished in the oldest records. The
rest of the parish, except the demesne and about forty acres of
glebe-land, lay mostly in open fields, and common meadows,
in which each fanner had his share and allotment.

In the centre of the parish stood the venerable mansion, half
surrounded and smothered up by a scattered village, in which the
clergyman, the smaller farmers, and the cottagers had their abode.
About the year 1748, James, fifth Lord Aston, inclosed a great

(1) la these freestone quarries are frequently found those hollow agate
balls, or geodes, the intern;il surface of -which is commonly covered
with numerous ciystals oi quartz: they are generally more or less frac-
tured, seldom entire, and are technically termed by mineralogists; drusy
cai^ilies.

(70)
part of the rabbit-waiTeiij and granted it on a lease for lives to
the tenant at Brancote. He also determined to erect a new man-
sion on the ruins of the old one ; and for this purpose cut down
the most valuable oaks, leaving however quite sufficient for
beauty and shelter. He lived only long enough to erect a quad-
rangle, containing excellent offices, and some good bed-cham-
bers j so that at his death in 1760, the old residence remained
nearly as it was when first erected : of which, in its entire state, a
very good view is preserved in Plot's "^ History of Staffordshire,"
plate 58.

Alter the death of Lord Aston, and during the minority of his
two daughters and coheiresses, who were left under the guar-
dianship of their uncles, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Earl of
Shrewsbury, the house at Tixall was for many years neglected
and forsaken. In the year 1 768, Barbara, the youngest daughter
of James, Lord Aston, being of age, a division of his estates was
made between the two sisters ; in consequence of which her hus-
band, the Hon. Thomas Clifl'ordj obtained possession of the house
and estate of Tixall. He soon found that the upper stories of
the old mansion were unsafe to inhabit. He was therefore com-
pelled to retreat into the quadrangle above-mentioned, in which
he lived several years. At length he detei-mined on adding a new
house to this quadrangle, the shell of which was completed in
1 782, but the upper apartments only Avere finished and inhabited
at the time of his death, which happened in 1787.

Some years before he undertook this building, he erected be-
hind the house, new coach-houses and stables ; and formed a
complete farm-yard with suitable conveniencies : having previ-
ously removed the old stables, and dovecote, which stood in the
front of his intended new house. He also demolished seve-
ral cottages which obstructed the prospect, and screened the
churchyard, parsonage, and the remainder of the village from the

( 71 )
eye by judicious plantations. He filled up two large ponds which
were immediately behind the house, destroyed the old garden,
which occupied the slope on the west-side of the ancient man-
sion, and formed another at a more convenient distance. The
approach to the house he altered entirely, and for this purpose,
caused a handsome stone bridge to be built over the river Sow at
Hollisf'ord. In the progress of these improvements, he was as-
sisted by the tasle and judgment of the celebrated Brown, (i) and
his pupil Eames.

But Tixallis indebted to a fortuitous circumstance, for one of
its most beautiful features. About the year 1 766, was undertaken
the navigable cut, called the Staffordshire and Worcestershire
Canalj which passes for more than two miles through the parish
of Tixall. The Hon. Thomas Clifford had the canal widened
in this part of its course, into the breadth and sweep of a noble
river; which appearance, or that of an inland lake, it now pre-
sents, when seen from the house, or the grounds about it. To
bring this fine object more into sight, he removed, at a great ex-
pense, a bank of rock which obstructed the prospect from the
house, took down a great many fences, and threw the interven-

(i)Lauiicelot Brown, who attained such celebrity for his skill and taste
in la_ying out grounds, came into Lord Cobham's service at Stow, as a
boy, in the year i"]^"], and was employed in the gardens till i';5o-, but
he had no share, as has generally been supposed, in any of the improve-
ments, they having been completed before he came to Stow. Those cele-
brated gardens were fiist designed by Lord Cobham, assisted by Bridgman
and Kent ; but to the latter, whose taste was much superior to tliat of
Bridgman, they owe most of their present beauty. It was the good taste
which Brown evinced, while employed by the Duke of Grafton, to whom
he was recommended by Lord Cobham, that laid the foundation of his
future fame and fortune.

( 72 )
ing ground between the house 'and the water, into the form of a
beautiful sloping lawn. Nor was his attention soleJy confined to
objects of taste and beauty. Finding that the farmers at Tixall
could not employ their lands to the best advantage, from the cir-
cumstance of their being much intermixed, he first set aside a
sufficient portion of the parish for demesne, and then divided the
remainder into eight compact farms, and erected two new farm-
houses. He cut off near 5oo acres from the park, which he de-
voted to agriculture^ and planted a handsome belt of wood to
conceal them fi'om the eye. He also made a large plantation on
Tixall Heath, which was a part of the rabbit-warren that had not
been brought into cultivation.

In the year 1 768, he purchased the Whitby estate, contain-
ing about 800 acres ; and consisting chiefly of the manor of
Coley, the Swansmoor Farm, and other scattered property at
Hixon, and Haywood. This was a most desirable purchase,
being all intermixed with, or contiguous to the ancient property
of the Astons j and to render this estate still more compact, he
made some other small purchases in the neighbourhood. The
neat and commodious house ofOakedge, near Wolseley-brdge,
then newly built, with 200 acres of land surrounding it, was
part of this purchase ; but it was sold again immediately to
Thomas Anson, Esq. elder brother of the great Lord Anson.

Since that period, the whole of this property has continued in
a progressive state of improvement j and the present possessor
finds himself seated in the centre of a well cultivated estate, lying
nearly in a ring fence.

Of the farm-houses in Tixall parish, five are scattered about in
the most convenient spots for the accommodation of the farmer ;
but the church, the parsonage, the village, and the mansion, are
situated near each other, and almost in the centre of the parish.

The church is a rectory in the gift of the proprietor of the pa-

( 7^ )
rish, and is endowed with about forty acres of glebe-land, lying
all together at one extremity of the parish : more than two-thirds
of which are protected from tithe, by a modus of loZ. a year : of
the rest the rector is entitled to the great and small tithes. The
value of the living is estimated at between 200/. and 5oo/. a year.
The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was re-
built in 1772, and is a small neat edifice, calculated to contain
about eighty persons. Against one side of the chancel, is an oval
monument of white marble, with this incription :

M. S.

Simonis Wakelin
Gulielmi Wakelin de Uttoxeter, et Dorotheae
Uxoris, filii unici, Artium Magistri,
Rectorisque hujus Ecclesiee, cui, (praeter
beneficia quae contulerat vivus) moriens
patenam, calicemque argenteum, vico
verb de Uttoxeter (natali suo) perpetuos
fundi cujusdam sui reditus ad usura pauperum reliquit.

Obiit 23' die Marlis, A.D. 1698 — setatis suae 58.

The legacy of Mr. Wakelin to Tixall church, which is com-
memorated in this epitaph, consisted of two silver cups or cha-
lices, which are still in use.

In the churchyard at Tixall, there is an altar-tomb affixed to the
church, in memory of Puchard Biddulph, who was steward to
four successive generations of the Aston family ; on which is the
following inscription, now almost defaced, and scarcely legible :

Heare lieth Pvichard Biddulph, that was born at Tixal in the
yeare of our Lord 1 5^6 and died on the i5th June in the 82'' yeare
of his age : he served 4 of the Astons, Sir Edw. Aston, Sir Wa.
Aston, Sir Edw. Aston, and W. Lord Aston : He was faithful and

K

(74)

diligent in his service. He was loving to his friends, and a just
man towards all. He was beloved of his masters, and having
spent his whole time in their service, Walter Lord Aston payes
ibis aclinowledgement to his meniorie. 1627.

There is only this one instance of great longevity :

Ralph Hadderstitch

died 5th Octr. 1777.

in his loadyear.

About the year 1755, the Rev. Thomas Loxdale was rector of
Tixall. He was a man of learning, and fond of antiquarian re-
searches ; and assisted Dr. Wilkes in his endeavours to coUectma-
terials for a county history. Many of his letters on this subject
have been published by the Rev. Stebbing Shaw, in the beginning
of the second volume of his very imperfect and ill-digested His-
tory of Staffordshire. Mr. Loxdale composed a little work, en-
titled " The Parochial Antiquities of Staffordshire^" which was
never published. The manuscript came into the possession of
Mr. Astle, and afterwards, together with the other papers of that
ingenious gentleman, became the property of the late Marquis of
Buckingham : by whose kind permission, 1 have been enabled to
extract some useful information, relative to the parish of Tixall^
from Mr. Loxdale's work. He asserts in one place, that Wet-
tenhall, Bishop of Cork, was born at Tixall ; a man of note in his
time, and of whom some account is given by Wood, in his
*' AthenseOxonienses."

Mr. Loxdale has preserved the following list of the Rectors of
Tixall :

Mr. Murrall, ab*. 1600.
Mr. Turner.

(75)

Mr. Dan. Baily. He was rector of St. Mary's Stafford.

Mr. Gillbody.

Mr. Tho. Tooth.

Mr. Ralf Phillips.

Mr. Simon Wakelyn. He was nephew to Sir Simon Degg, and
a great Benefactor to the place and Pa-
rish. He also made an attempt to have
broke through the modus of i o/. which
L**. Aston pays for his Demesne, but
was cast.

Mr. Richard Drakeford. Rector of St. Mary's Stafford.

Mr. Ludgeter, resigned.

Mr. Tho'. Holbroke, son of the Rector of Edgmond.

He was Fund', nostrse calaniitatis, des-
stroying all the Registers, so that I can
fix noe time.
Tho'. Loxdale.

The pi'esent incumbent is the Rev. William Corne, who has
been rector of Tixall, ever since the year 1 760 ; and though now
above eighty years of age, is still in complete possession of all his
faculties. He reads the smallest print without spectacles, which
indeed he never uses. He has an active mind, is a good scholar,
and possesses a retentive memory stored with various informa-
tion and amusing anecdotes, which he loves to communicate, and
in a very agreeable manner to those who enjoy the pleas^re of his
company. On my presenting him a copy of the poem on the
ruins of Tixall, which concludes this work, he very good-
humouredly said, after having perused it, that he could find no
fault with it, except that there was no mention in it of him ; for
that he considered himself as one of the principal ruins of the
place.

(76)

The parsonage house is very near the church, and is pleasantly
situated, commanding a fine prospect of lawn and water. A
little to the west of the parsonage, is the village, consisting of
about a dozen scattered dwellings, one of them a considerable
farm-house. The chaplain to the family at Tixall^ (which is Ro-
man Catholic) resides also in the village. The gentleman who
fills that situation at present, is Mr. Le Sage, a French emi-
grant clergyman, and grand-nephew of the ingenious author of
Gil Bias.

About35years ago, the celebrated ^n/z Moor, the fasting woman
of Tutbury, lived in this village. Her grandfather, Mr. Halford, was
a surgeon of eminence atNorbury in Derbyshire, who indulging in
an expensive style of life, left behind him at his death two orphan
daughters, without any means for their subsistence. One of them
was nursery maid at Tixall-house for many years j and died a few
years ago at Tixall village^ greatly I'espected and esteemed for
her piety and virtue, and for her many estimable qualities, which
justly endeared her to all who knew her. Her sister married
Thomas Pegg, a common laboux-er, by whom she had a daugh-
ter, called Ann Pegg, now Ann Moor. About the year 1777,
Ann Pegg entered into the service of Mrs. Savage, a widow lady,
who, after her husband's death, occupied a small house in Tixall
village. Ann Pegg was then about sixteen years of age, and is
said to have possessed a considerable share of beauty. She af-
terwards married John Moor, a labourer, but soon forsook her
husband, and led for many years a disorderly life.

The fact of her total abstinence from food, during five or six
years, after having been generally believed, was at length proved
to be an imposture : she however shewed that she had acquired
great powers of abstinence, by remaining nine days and nights
without any sustenance before she would own the deceit.

The parish of Tixall, from the variety of low and elevated

C 77 )
ground which it contains, presents in different parts, a great num-
ber of pleasing views, and interesting objects. These cannot
be better pointed out to the reader, than by conducting him
along the course of a ride, or drive, which has been carried
round the parish, for the purpose of showing these prospects to
the best advantage.

You first ascend a semicircular verdant slope, crowned with
wood, which shelters the house from the east. The view from the
summit is of the same kind as that enjoyed by the mansion
below, only much more various and extensive. The celebrat-
ed Brown could not behold the scene without rapture, and
urged the owner to build a house there. And indeed, on cast-
ing your eyes around from this spot, you feel ready to exclaim
with the poet —

Heavens ! what a goodly prospect spreads round
Of hills and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires,
And glitlering towns, and gilded streams, till all
The stretching landscape into smoke decays ! (i)

But the rage for elevated situations, so prevalent some years
ago, is now much abated ; and in the opinion of most visitors at
Tixall, no better spot, than the one where the house actually
stands, could easily be found, which would at once embrace the
united objects of shelter, comfort, and beauty.

The ride now enters a grove of spreading trees, and is con-
ducted along a natural terrace, in a northern direction ; being
skirled on the west by a plantation of thriving oaks, while an ex-
tensively varied prospect opens to the east. You first look down
on the playful mazes of the Trent, winding through the fertile

(i) Th omson's " Seaons."

(78)
meadows on its bauks, till it is lost in the busy scene at Hay-
wood \\'harf, where the Staflbrdshire and Worcestershire Canal
terminates in the Grand Trunk : just beyond, the populous vil-
lage of Great Haywood, interspersed with trees, stretches on each
side of the high road from London to Livei-pool ; and behind Hay-
wood, a range of pasture ground gradually rising from the valley,
leads the eye to ColeyFarm, a small estate and manor belonging
to Tixall, which commands the most enchanting prospects,
and from which, on a clear day, the lofty spires of Lichfield ca-
thedral are distinctly visible. A little to the east of Coley, the
horizon is bounded by the massive woods of Blilhficld ; (behind
which stands Blithfield-house, the ancient seat of the family of
Bagot) whose towering oaks, for number, height, straitness,
and value, are esteemed the finest in England, (i)

(i) " The first and best timbered estate is that of Lord Bagot's, to the
north of Abbots Bromley. The woods extend over many hundred acres,
and almost wholly consist of oak, the ripest, finest, and best that I ever
saw ; and I believe I run no risk of exceeding the bounds of truth, if I
say the best in the kingdom. A very large quantity of oak in these woods is
now quite ripe, and some even decaying. Many of the oaks carry timber to
the length of 60 and -jO feet ; and in Lord Bagofs park, there are many
hundreds of very extraordinary bulk, containing from 200 to 4oo feet of
timber each. I could pick out many worth 60 guineas a piece, and some
even more. Some of the timber is of considerable antiquity, and men-
tioned by Dr. Plot, as full grown timber in 1686. I was informed upon
the spot, that for these woods 100,000/. has been offered; and that his
lordship has half as much timber in Denbighshire. Total value of timber
i5o,ooo/. : which in the three per cents at the present price, woidd pur-
chase an income for ever of more than 6000 guineas per annum. The
succession-woods, and young plantations, are very considerable, and still
continuing ; and upon land not worth a rent of los. an acre, paying bet-

( 79)

Contiguous lo Blithfield are Kingston woods, the property of
Earl Talbot.

Wandering down the vale of Trent^ the eye is attracted by the
singular appearance of volumes of while smoke, perpetually rising
from the salt-works of Shirleywich, over the lower groves of In-
gestrie. These salt-works, and those of Cheshire, and of Droit-
wich in Worcestershire, are said to be the only inland salt-works
of any consequence in the kingdom.

As the ride extends, you are gratified with the sight of the prettily
scattered village ofHixon, studded with trees j and beyond it,
over Loxley Park, the seat of Clement Kynnersley, Esq. you enjoy
a diversified prospect of great extent, bounded by the blue
mountains of Derbyshire ; and the Weever Hills, on the confines
of the county of Staflbrd. At the foot of these high hills stands
Wooton, remarkable for having afforded an asylmn to the ec-
centric J. J. Rousseau, (i) About a mile to the north of Hixon^ is

ter than in any other way. It is also upon a poor cold land of this de-
scription, that the above fine timber chiefly abounds, the soil being a
moist gravelly loam upon a clay or marl bottom, The young plantations
are made sometimes by sowing acorns with wheat after summer fallow ;
and sometimes by planting out young plants of oak, and other wood : in
which case, at the end of one or two years, when such plants have taken
well to the ground, they are cut off at the surface, and the second shoot
trusted to for the tree : this second shoot thriving with much more luxu-
riance and vigour than the first checked by transplanting. Also after
cutting down a wood, the replanting is sometimes effected by striking in
with a pickaxe, a sufficient number of acorns and other seeds of forest
trees, or underwood ; and all these methods have been attended with
success. The young plantations are well fenced, and carefully guarded
from trespass by a woodman appointed for that purpose. (Pitt's " Agric.
Surv. of Staff.")

(i) It appears that Rousseau had signified to Hume, who took a lively

(80)
seen the liiile parish church of Stowe, where lies entombed
Walter, first Viscount Hereford, gi-andson of the first Lord Fer.

eoncera in his welfare, that he wished to procure a rural retirement in En-
gland ; but that his independent spirit would not suflfer him to reside in
any house, but where he should be allowed to pay for his board. This
coming to the knowledge of Mr. Davenport, then possessor of Wooton,
who was eager to have such an inmate, he informed Rousseau, that living
in a very cheap part of England, and remote from the metropolis, he could
afford to board him, and his gouvernante Mademoiselle Le Vasseur, for
a very trifling consideration. The sum proposed is said to have been so
small, that Rousseau could not but have seen through the deceit. This
extraordinary being however seems to have gladly closed with a proposal
which promised to reconcile so well the contending interests of his pride
and purse, and took up his abode at Wooton,in the month of March, 1766-
It was here that he set on foot his strange quarrel with Hume, his friend
and benefactor ; which affords ample proof, on his side, either of a bad heart,
or a disordered imagination. Towards the end of the summer of the same
year, Rousseau quitted AVooton, and shortly after returned to France.
The tradition of this part of the country respecting the cause of his de-
parture is curious. It is said, that his gouvernante one day told him, that
she had, unperceived, seen the cook put some unusual ingredients into his
broth, and that she feared there was an intention of taking him off by-
poison. She was probably tired of the solitude of a country life, and to
effect her removal, endeavoured to take advantage of his suspicious and
irritable temper. However that might be, she was immediately dispatched
to the next town for a postchaise ; and in the meantime Rousseau re-
mained for some hours in the open air, till the chaise arrived, refusing to
be sheltered for a moment longer, under a roof, where such a flagrant and
enormous breach of hospitality had been intended !

There is a popular distich concerning this place, greatly to the disad-
vantage of its situation :

Woolon under Weever,
A\ here the sun comes never.

(8i )
rers of Chartley, who was descended from the great Norman fa-
mily of De Ferrers, earls of Derby, (i) Here the attention is fixed
by a swelling knoll, crowned with the ruins of Chartley-castle.
They consist of the remains of two round towers, and of a wall
almost hid in wood. A little below this ruined casde, stood
the family mansion, which was destroyed by fire in 1781. On
this occasion, perished an embroidered bed, the workman-
ship of the ill-fated Mary of Scotland, who was for some time im-
prisoned at Chartley. Behind the house lies the park, a wide
heathy tract, peopled with stags, fallow deer, and wild cattle.
Mr. Gisborne, in his popular and elegant poem, entitled "Walks
in a Forestj" has finely imagined that the melancholy queen would
sometimes sadly contrast the wearisomeness of her confinement,
with the sportiveness of these animals, when observing their frisky
gambols through the grated windows of her tower (2) in Tutbury-
castle.

----- Through the stony chink,
Wonton the near-approaching foe to pour
The arrowy .itorm, on these wild banks she gazed :
While Fancy, minister of woe, with hand

(i) The monument, Avhich is of white marble, was erected in his
lifetime. His figure is represented in robes, with the collar of the garter
round his neck : his head reposes on a plume of feathers wreathed round
a helmet. On one side of him is placed his first lady^ Mary, daughter of
Thomas, Marquis of Dorset ; on the otlier, his second, Margaret, daugh-
ter of Robert Garnish, Esq. of Kington, in Suffolk. Around the sides
of the tomb are six male, and six female figures, the former girt with swords.
Above, is a canopy of oak, which was once richly gilded, and is de-
corated with the arms of Devereux, and Ferrers, quarterly ; and im-
paled on either side, with those of his two wives.

(2) Queen Mary was removed from Tulbury-castle to Chartley, in the year
i585, under the care of Sir AmiasPawlet. During her confinement here,

L

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Officious, to her view presented still
Gay troops of forest deer, unprisoned airs
Inhaling, and as frolic sport insjsired,
Bounding unfettered.

The drive now traverses a wood near half a mile in length,
the safe and undisturbed retreat of the partridge, the pheasant,
and the hare. Towards the extremity of the wood, a view is
opened to the west into Tixall Park, and the eye is drawn across
a hanging bank of oaks, to the towers and battlements of the
keeper's lodge ; which was built by the present possessor in
a castellated foi'in, presenting an embattled wall, flanked at
each end, by a square embattled tower. It stands on an elevated
spot, and in one of the towers is a tea-room with three diflerent
aspects, commanding very pleasing prospects to the south, west,
and north.

Issuing from the wood, you enter the park, and ascend gra-

one Babington, a youth of an ardent mind, formed a plan for her deli-
verance, and conveyed letters to her by a brewer, who was bribed to put
them in secretly, and receive answers through a hole in the wall. In a
letter she wrote to him, dated 2'] July, i586, she tells him, " that he
might intercept her as she rode abroad for recreation ia the fields between
Chartley and Stafford." On the discovery of this plot, she was removed
to Fotheringay-castle, in Northamptonshire, 20 Sept. i586, where she
was executed on the 8th of Feb. following. (Camden, " Hist, of Queen
Eliz." b. 3- p. n5.) Sir Edw. Aston, Sir Eic. Bagot, and another, by au-
thoiity granted unto them under the queen's warrant, committed Naive
and Curllj her (Q. Mary's) two secretaries, to several custodies, that they
might not confer either one with the other, or with the queen. And
then breaking open the doors of her private closet, they sent all her cabi-
nets wherein her papers were kept, sealed up with their seals, to the
court. — Ibid, p- ^9-

(83)
dually to the highest point of it, when bending rather sharply
round a woody brow, a noble display of forest scenery suddenly
bursts upon the view. Below, an extensive grove of oaks almost
conceals the intervening valley, and connects the park with Can-
nock Heath, which rises boldly above the trees, and from this
spot appears crowned with a spreading wood called Brockton
Coppice. In the front of this wood is an obelisk sixty feet high,
erected by Thomas Anson, Esq. From its situation, and from
the various points from which it can be seen, it is an object of
picturesque beauty, and a landmark to all the country round for
many miles, (i). To the south, the eye stretches ten miles further
across the heath, till it rests on an elevated summit, called Style
Cop, behind which are the woods of Beaudesert Park, the seat
of the Marquis of Anglesey.

Below me trees unnumbered rise,

Beautiful in various dies :

The gloomy pine, the poplar blue.

The yellow beech, the sable yew.

The slender fir, that taper grows,

The sturdy oak, with broad-spread boughs.

Gaudy as tbe opening dawn,

Lies a long and level lawn,

On which a dark hill, steep and high,

Holds and charms the wandering eye.

Shortly after, the drive crosses the extremity of a fine avenue,
composed of four rows of trees, chiefly beech, and horse-chesnut ;
at the other end of which stands the castellated keeper's lodge.
You now leave the park, and skirting the Hanjard Farm, are sud-
denly transported from the contemplation of the wild scenes of
nature, to a view of cultivated fields, and of the busy haunts of

(i) Since this was written, the obelisk has been unfortunately blown down.

(84)

jiiau. This farm occupies the most elevated part of the parish ;
as the name of Hanyard or Hanyale imports ; from han, Saxon,
high, &nd.jate, gate or road, (i) The ride is agreeably sheltered
in this part, from the east and north, by the thick woods ofln-
gestrie, while an extensive prospect opens to the west. The
town of Stafford stretches along the valley ; behind it rise the
towers of Staflbrd-castle, on an insulated knoll clothed with firs,
and surrounded by a richly cultivated country : above this, is
seen a woody bank, called Billington Bury, where are the re-
mains of an ancient encampment ; beyond is the lofty spire of Bre-
wood church, the woods of Chillington, the ancient house of the
GifTard family, and PatshuU, the seat of Sir Robert Pigot ; the tow-
ering Wrekiuj and the two Clee Hills in Shropshire, foim the ho-
rizon. In a clear day, the Malvern Ridge in Worcestershire, and
the steeples of Wolverhampton, eighteen miles distant, are
plainly discernible. Advancing further to the north, you see
the Beacon Hill, and its light clump of trees, rising abniptly
out of a level champaign country ; and beyond, the eye rests on
Sugnall-hall, an elevated spot, at the foot of which is the town of
Eccleshall, fecclesice aulaj but too low to be conspicuous, and
adjoining to it, the castle, now the residence of the bishops of
this diocese. It was built by Walter de Langton, Bishop of Lich-
field, in the reign of Edward I. Further on, the view sweeps over
Hopton Heath, and is terminated by the woods of Swinnerton, in
front of which stands Swinnerton-house, eleven miles distant,
th,e seat of the family of Fitzherbert.

Strait mine eye hath caught new pleasures.
As the landskip rouud it measures :

(i) Periiaps from a road, called ^Mlson's-lane, now little frequented,
which leads from the Hanyard farm-house to Hopton Heath, and is carried
along the highest ground in the parish for more than half a mile.

(85)

Russel lawns and fallows gray,
Where the nibbling flocks do stray ;
Mountains, on whose barren breast
The lab'ring clouds do often rest j
Meadows trim with daisies pied,
Shallow brooks, and rivers wide :
Towers and battlements it sees,
Bosomed high in tufted trees.

From ihis spot the ride takes a western direction, and winding
through some pleasant fields, enters a long plantation consisting
chiefly of larch, which leads to Tixall Heath. A part of this heath
has been brought into cultivation ; the remainder is covered with
a variety of trees and shrubs, for some of which it is indebted to
the prolific bounty of nature, for others to the careful hand of
art. An opening in the wood discovers a pleasing reach of water
formed by the confluence of the Penk, and Sow ; above which,
the little parish church of Berkswick, or Baswich, is a pretty ob-
ject, (i)

In the reign ot Henry VII. Tixall Heath was polluted by being
made the scene of an atrocious act of assassination. 1 shall give
the story at length, as it is related by Dugdale, in his History of
Warwickshire.

" Sir Philip Chetwynd, Knt. departed this life, 24 H. 6, leav-
ing William his grandchild his heir. Which William, afterwards
one of the gentlemen-ushers of the chamber to King Henry
VII., became so much envied by Sir Humphrey Stanley, (then of
Pipe, CO. Staff.) one of the knights for the body to the same king,

(i) This church probably takes its nauae from Bertie or Bertelin, the
hermit of StaiTord ; and perhaps this may be the place whither he re-
tired to end his days in solitude, as mentioned above. In the old chartu-
lariesof St. Thomas Priory, it is written Bercleswick. — See Appendix.

( 86 )
and sheriff for that county g H. 7. as that by means of a counter-
feit letter, in the name of Randolf Brereton, Esq. delivered on
Friday night before the feast of St. John the Baptist's nativity,
requesting his meeting Avith him at Stafford, the next morning by
five of the clock — being allured out of his house at Ingestrie,
and passing thitherwards accordingly, with no more attendance
than his own son and two servants ; he was waylayed on Tixall
Heath, by no less than twenty persons, whereof seven were of
the said Sir Humphrey's own family, some with bows, and others
with spears, all armed with brigandines, and coats of mail ; who
issuing out of a sheep-cote, and a deep dry pit^ furiously as-
saulted him, saying that he should die, and accordingly killed
him : the said Sir Humphrey at that time passing by, with at least
twenty-four persons on hoi'seback, upon pretence of hunting a
deer. All which, the petition to the king made by Alice, his
widow, whei'ein she craves that the said Sir Humphrey and his ser-
vants might answer for it, doth manifest."

From other accounts it appears, that Sir Humphrey had inte-
rest enough at court to silence the matter ; and that no redress
was ever given to Alice, nor any notice taken of the assassina-
tion of her husband !

The Rev. Thomas Loxdale, in the MS. before-cited, says,
" In the last century two urns were found on Tixall Heath, lately
in the keeping of the Right Hon. Walter Lord Aston. There are,
also, two arliilcial hillocks, called the king's and queen's low ; (1)
which show it to have been a place of action, but as nothing has
yet been discovered in any of our historians, there is no room for
a conjecture in what age it might be."

These urns have not been preserved, nor is the account very ac-
curate ; foronly twenty years ago, three lows were very visible, one

(i) Low, or loe, Saxon, a hillock, heap, or barrow.

(87)
of which has since been levelled with the plough, but not till it
had been dug into and examined, though without making any dis-
covery. The other two lows are in the woodland part of the
heath, and are planted with firs. The name oi king's low is now
forgotten ; but that of (queens low is partially preserved in the
name of the adjoining fields, which are called the Quinslejs.
Though Mr. Loxdale asserts, that there is no room for conjec-
ture respecting the origin of these artificial hillocks, might we
not, with some degree of probability, assign them to the time
of the renowned Elfleda, the daughter of Alfi'edj the valiant and
illustrious Queen of IMercia, who built a castle at Stafford, and
died in her palace at Tamworth, in the year 919? Tixall Heath,
in its ancient stale, was a very likely spot for one of the many
battles fought by this magnanimous princess, against the Britons
and Danes : and If she ordered heaps of earth, as was common in
those times, to be raised over the bodies of the slain, would they
not naturally be called the Queen's Lows ?(^\).

About the year i8o5, a very antique stone cross, which once
stood before the gate of a ruined mansion In South Wales, was
transported hither and erected on Tixall Heath. It is of a very

(i) Heory of Huntingdon, one of our ancient historians, has preserved
the following verses in honour of Elfleda, in which she is styled both king
and queen :

O Elfleda potens ! O terror Virgo virorum !

Victrix naturae, nomine digna viri.
Tu quo splendidior fieres, natura puellam,

Te probitas fecit nomea habere viri.

Te mutare de cet sed soliim nomina sexiis
Tu regina potens, rexque trophsea parans :

Jam nee Cresarei tantum meruere triumphi,
Ctesare splendidior, Virgo, virago, vale.

(88)
hard moor-sione ) the shaft, which has eight unequal sides, sup-
ports a tablet of an hexagonal form, adorned with very rude
carvings ; on one side, a cruciGx, on the other, the virgin with
the child in her lap. On the edge of the tablet is also a figure,
which has been thought by some experienced antiquaries to re-
present St. John the Evangelist. This cross is now erected on
one of the lows, amid the congenial gloom of a clump of widely
spreading pines, and may be considered as a memorial of the
horrible assassination of William Chetwynd. (i)

Having wandered for some time in the sylvan mazes of Tixall
Healh,you issue forth intosonae open, cultivated grounds, which
conduct you by a gentle declivity to Brancote Farm. (2) Here the
ride assumes quite a novel and distinct appearance. It passes
thiough a narrow dell, (5) along the margin of several successive
pools, sweetly overshadowed with umbrageous oaks. This se-
questered scenery is continued for half a mile, till skirting the
woods of St, Thomas Pi'iory, you break at once upon the vale of

Sow.

Enchanting vale ! bejond wliate'er the Muse
Has of Achaia or Hesperia sung.
O vale of bliss ! O softly-swelling hills !
On which the power of cultivation lies.
And joys to see the wonders of his toil.

(i) InBritton's " Architectural Antiquities, " vol. i, plate A. fig. 3, there
is a cross very similar to this ; and he remarks, that such crosses were
commonly set up as sepulchral mementos, and as memorials of battles,
murders, and other fatal events.

(2) This name, which is of very long standing, being mentioned in the
first records of the barony of Stafford, may be derived from bran,
a rook or crow ; and col a dwelling. Behind the house is a rough piece of
ground, formerly covered with aged oaks, a very likely resort for that so-
cial and gregarious bird.

(3) Wvthedeuslade, before mentioned.

(99)
In this part, the vale is confined on each side, by a range of
little hills j those opposite Tixall are agi-eeably diversified with
scattered oaks^ bushes of the bright yellow-flowered goi'se,
young plantations, arable, and fallow grounds, pastures ani-
mated by sheep and cattle, and sloping banks, enlivened here and
there with a neat cottage and garden. The river flowing through
the middle of the valley, the church of Bei'kswich, the prioiy of
St. Thomas, the steeples of Staflford, and its newly-i-estored castle
complete the prospect.

Ever charming, ever new,

Wlicn will the landskape tire the view?

The fountain's fall, the river's flow.

The woodj valley warm and low,

The windy summit wild and high,

Roughly rushing on the sky )

The pleasant seat, the ruined tower,

The naked rock, the shady bower.

The town, and village, dome, and farm,l

Each give each a double charm, \

Like pearls upon an Ethiop's arm. j

On the Tixall side of the vale of Sow, the ride advances
through the plantations, with which the steep parts of the hills
are covered ; and which serve sometimes to show the valley, and
the various bends of the river, in the most favourablepoints of view,
and sometimes totally to conceal them from the eye. Leavingthese
woody heights, you descend to thebanks of the river, andfollowing
its meanders, soon come in sight of the neat cottage of Mr. Collins
at Milford, which with the sheltered house of Mr. Levetj and the
woods and mansion of Brockton, the seat of Sir Geurge Chet-
wyndj successively open to the view. These are succeeded by
the romantic knolls of Cannock Heath j opposite to which, on

M

(90)
the Tixall side, stands Berry Hill, a rough, rocky eminence,
supporting a clump of firs. Near the top of the rock is a natural
grotto, called Lord Aston's seat, which commands a pleasant
prospect up the vale of Sow, terminated by Stafford castle. Near
this spot, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is carried
across the Sow, by an aqueduct which is concealed from sight
by a large plantation of willows and poplars, so that the canal
appears to be a continuation of the river. The drive follows its
course for some distance, till entering the lawn, which faces
Tixall house, it bends from the canal towards the north, and
reaches the mansion by a gradual ascent, after a circuit of nearly
six miles.

From this rapid sketch of the surrounding country, the reader
will perceive, that the general aspect of this part of Staffordshire,
is that of a cultivated, pastoral, woodland tract, enriched and
adorned with all the pleasing accompaniments, which consti-
tute the perfection of the softer kind of landscape. The wild
and savage scenes of nature — the rude projecting rock, the
yawning chasm, the deep, precipitous glen — scenes, which might
delight the daring imagination of a Salvator Rosa, and which his
pencil would consecrate — these are not here to be found. Yet,
on the other hand, the magic combinations of a Titian, or a
Claude, are not unfrequently presented to the raptured eye of
an attentive observer. We have here, indeed, no foaming tor-
rent exasperated by rocks, or precipitated in cataracts j no
stupendous mountain, rearing its insuperable, snow-wreathed
summit above the clouds ; no unfathomable lake, reflecting in
its crystal bosom the tremendous precipices which start perpen-
dicularly from its sides. Our smiling valleys, and opening glades,
ai'enot contrasted by the impenetrable gloom of primeval forests ;
nor are our views extended, and finished, by the illimitable ex-
panses of the boimdless ocean. But, although we cannot boast

( 9' )
of these sublime, or terrific objects, which Nature has thrown
together in some other parts of this island ; yet here is

A happy rural seat of various view :

a soft and regular alternation of hill and valley ; a sweet succes-
sion of vai'ied, undulating ground, diversified, and embellished
with all the vai'iety and beauty, which lawTi, wood, and water
can bestow ; presenting on every side, the loveliest scenes to the
eye of the painter, and the fancy of the poet, and combining in
the happiest manner, all the comfort, convenience, and ele-
gance of rural life.

O fortune se'jour ! O champs aimds des cieux !
Que, pour jamais foulant vos pres delicieux,
Ne puis-je ici fixer ma course vagabonde,
Et, coanu de vous seuls, ignorer tout le monde.

To complete the topographical delineation of the parish of Tix-
all, it now remains to describe the family mansion, or seat of the
proprietor. Tixall house is situated nearly in the centre of the
parish, and occupies altogether a considerable extent of gi'ound ;
but the only part fully exposed to view is the south front, which
was erected, as above-mentioned, by the late Hon. Thomas Clif-
ford. It is built of Tixall stone, and is ornamented with a portico
of four columns, of the Doric order 3 the shaft of each column
being a single block of stone fifteen feet in length. The front is ex-
tended by a screen on each side, decorated inlike manner with Do-
ric columns and pilasters, which serve to conceal the offices, and
to give consequence to the building : the whole forming a facade
of 144 teet. Each screen is surmounted by a large pedestal, on
which were placed, a few years ago, two lions couchant, from
Coade's manufactory at Lambeth. The elegant simplicity of the
architecture of this front, together with its situation, never

(90
fails to strike every beholder with pleasure. The interior of the
house was fitted up under the direction of Mr. Samuel Wyatt, of
the Albion Mills. On the left of the hall, which is 24 feet square,
is a libraiy, 28 feet, by 24, which contains about 4,000 volumes.
The principal part of this library was collected by the Aston family,
during the seventeenth century j but many valuable modern works
in various languages, have been added during the last sixty years.
The library at Tixall has been lately decorated with a splen-
did painting from the skilful hand of Mr. Bird, of the Royal
Academy, Historical Painter to the Princess Charlotte of Wales.
This gentleman went to Dover in the month of April 1814^ by
the command of his Pioyal Highness the Prince Regent, in order
to draw the scene of the embarkation of his Most Christian Ma-
jesty Louis XVin. for France. This painting by Mr. Bird is now in
the Collection ofhis Royal Highness; and the counterpart to it, re-
presenting the landing of the King at Calais, is the one above-men-
tioned in the library at Tixall. The painter, who had obtained per-
mission to sail in the royal yacht, has chosen the moment when
the vessel being laid alongside of the pier, the King came upon
deck to receive the homage of his people previous to his going on
shore. In the centre is seated, the King, his countenance beaming
with sensibility and benevolence ; before him stands a group of
twelve young ladies, of the principal families of Calais, all
dressed in white satin, with lilies in their hands. One of them
kneeling, presents him with a lily, which his majesty, bending
forward, accepts with complacency. On the king's left hand is
seated the Duchess of Angouleme, in whose features are displayed
the various emotions which must have agitated her mind, on that
momentous occasion. At her left, stands Talleyrand Perigord,
the venerable Ex-Ai'chbishop ofRheims,(i) uncle to the Ex-
Bishop of Autun, so celebrated for his political talents. Behind the

(i) Lately created a Cardinal, and Archbishop of Paris.

(95 )
chair of the princess appears the aged Dutchess of Serent, her lady in
wailing, who lost her two only sons in the disastrous expedition
at Quiberon. By her side stands Sir John Beresford, comman-
der of the royal yacht. Behind the king are stationed the Due de
Duras, his lord in waiting, and the Comte de Blacas. The good
old Prince of Conde leans on the king's chair, and befoi-e him is
placed his son, the Due de Bourbon, who by the atrocious assas-
sination of his only son the Due d'Enghien, is now the last
of his illustrious race. The left side of the picture is occupied by
a group of illustrious personages, who had followed the for-
tunes of the royal family of France during their exile ; the Coun-
tesses of Choiseul and Damas, the Dukes of Gramont and Havre,
the Vicomte d'Agoult, the Marquis d'Avaray, etc. Behind these
are seen the Earl of Buckinghamshire and Lord Cawdor. On
the right, near the group of Fi-ench ladies mentioned above,
are the Mayor of Calais, the Prefect of the Department, Lord
Sidmouth, and the Officers belonging to the yacht. Above, in the
center of the picture, a crew of French sailors in the rigging, for-
getful of the danger of their situation, bend over with eager-
ness to behold their sovereign, and appear to hang in air.
The pier of Calais forms the back ground, where crowds of French
natives are seen, some waving hats and handkerchiefs, others
with flags, on which are inscribed " Vive Louis XVIIL vivent
les Bourbons ;" all making extalic gestures, and appearing
frantic with joy. Among these is placed the owner of the pic-
ture, who had the happiness of beholding this interesting scene,
and can bear testimony to the fidelity of the representation.

On the right of the hall is a dining-room, 36 feet by 24, and
like the hall and libraiy, 16 feet 6 inches high. In this room,
there is a family picture of uncommon size, which contains ele-
ven figures as large as life, and represents Walter, the fourth
Lord Aston, with the Lady Mary Howard, his wife, their chil-

(94)
dren and attendants. There is also a full length portrait of Tho-
mas^ Duke of Norfolk, in his parliamentary robes, with the
Earl Marslial's staff in his hand. These two pieces were painted
by Peter Van Bleeck, a Dutchman, " who came into England,"
says Walpole, " in 1723, and died in 1764. He was reckoned a
good painter of portraits." These paintings justify the character
which Lord Orford has given him. Corresponding with the por-
trait of the Duke of Norfolk, is one of Catherine Gage, daughter of
Sir Thomas Gage, Bart, and second wife of the third Lord Aston.
Above the doors, are two heads, one by Vandyck, the other by
Corn. Janssen. Besides these, are two large historical paintings by
Casali ; one of which represents the assassination of King Ed-
ward the Martyr, at the gate of Corfe-castle : the subject of the
the other is a story told in Baker's Chronicle, of Gunhilda, Em-
press of Germany, and daughter of Canute the Great. This
last piece obtained the prize ofi'ered in 1760, by the society for
the encouragment of arts, for the best historical painting. The
two were pui'chased by Alderman Beckford, for 1 ,000 guineas,
and decorated his residence at Fonthill, till within these few
years, when the pictures and furniture of that princely mansion
were sold by auction.

Over these three rooms on the ground floor, are two excellent
bed-chambers, and dressing-rooms, and in the center a pleasant
drawing-room, in which is a valuable portrait, by Holbein, of
Cromwell, Earl of Essex, the friend and patron of Sir R. Sadler, of
which an engraving is prefixed to the first volume of his State Papers.
The center window opens into a spacious balcony, supported by
the portico, which commands an extensive and delightful prospect
of the surrounding scenery. The whole of the new house is well
connected with the old quadrangle, and there are some other
good rooms in it, besides a neat, luminous, modern chapel. In
the gallery, which c onnects the old and new part of the house to-

(95)
gether, there are many family portraits and other paintings.
Among them is a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, once the pro-
perty of Sir Ralph Sadler, and probably procured by him, while
she was under his custody in Tutbury-castle.

The painter's skill wliat words can duly praise ?

Whose art presents to our enraptured gaze,

The very features, lineaments, and face,

Which with fresh transport we delight to trace.

Hail art divine I to thee Affection owes

The sweetest sj-mpathies which life bestows:

Thy labours immortality can give ;

In thy expressive colouring still live

Consigned by thee to every future age.

The hero, beauty, patriot, and sage.

Triumphant o'er the grave thy power extends.

And envious Time to thee assistance lends. A. C.

The view from the portico at Tixall is one of the most pleasing
in the county. It is what the painters properly term, ""a whole ;
a fore-ground, a middle, and a distance." (i) The fore-ground
is one continued la\NTi ol the finest verdure, gently sloping from
the house to the banks of the canal : which here appears like a
noble river meandering through the valley. On the right, the
prospectis almost wholly intercepted by the venerable gatehouse :
the eastern end of which is completely covered with a mantle of the
most luxuriant ivy. The deep, and glossy green of its foliage, flou-
rishing in health and vigour, forms a striking contrast to the pale
grey, time-worn, and weather-beaten colour of the building ;

(i) Gilpin, " Observ. on Forest Scenery." Part. 3, ch. 5.

(96)
whiJe its wandering ramifications seem eager to twine their grace-
ful tendrils round the mossy pinnacles of the towers. Behind
the gatehouse is a plantation, intended as a screen to hide the
parsonage-house from the eye : which object is effectually ob-
tained, although it does not entirely conceal the neat little spire
of the village church j which glittering among the trees, has a
pleasing efl'ect. On the left of the house, are some large um-
brageous trees, stretching their " extravagant arms" towards the
eastern approach ; beyond which, is seen the village of Great
Haywood, embosomed in trees, and the rising grounds above it,
pleasantly variegated with corn fields, and pastures, hedge-rows,
cottages, and farms. Descending from these heights, the eye
reposes with pleasure on the glassy surface of the canal, which,
in this part, sweeps into a broad expanse of water, resembling
a lake. Its further bank is enriched, and decorated, by thebloom-
ing groves, and architectural ornaments of Shugborough, the seat
of Lord Anson : beyond which, the eye is carried down the '*' long-
withdrawing vale," bounded by the lofty-swelling hills, and
tufted woods of Oakedge, and by the bold, protuberant masses of
Wolseley Park • whose sides are scattered over with aged oaks,
and their summits crowned with hardy pine. Exactly in front
of the house, is the triumphal arch, dedicated to the memory of
the first Lord Anson. It stands on a verdant knoll, backed by a
considerable breadth of brown and purjde heath. On one side
of it, are the oaks of Haywood Park, and the cultivated grounds
of Shugborough farm, stretching up the hills ; on the other, is
an extensive wood of beech overhanging the river Soav, through
which is the western approach to Shugborough house. The whole
of the smiling landskape below, is charmingly contrasted, and ter-
minated both beyond, and above the wood, by the brown heathy
distances of Cannock Chace, whose elevated ridges, surmounted

(97 )
by irregular clumps of firs, high-waving in the blast, mingle the
wild horizon with the sky.

Nor is this various scenery destitute of life and animation.
The moving groups of cattle, horses, and sheep, slowly wandering
over the pastures j the parti'idge, hare, and pheasant, flitting across
the dusky lawn ; the milk-white swan, sailing majestically on the
bosom of the canal ; the long, heavy barge, with its towing horse,
and attendant driver, seen gliding through the ti'ees ; all con-
spire in their turn, to give life, variety, and interest to the soft
and tranquil scene.

There is something, uncommonly gratifying, both to the eye
and the imagination, in the mingled assemblage of buildings at
Tixall, with their various architecture, ancient and modern, Go-
thic and Grecian, and in the strikingly contrasled-appearance of
an elegant modern mansion, closely adjoining to an ivy-mantled
ruin. All that remains of the ancient seat of the Astons is this
ruin, and the gatehouse, which are near each other, and only a
few paces to the west of the present mansion.

The gatehouse was built by Sir Walter Aston, (i) about the year
i58o, just at the period, when the architecture of Greece and
Rome, had began to be fashionable in England. Our ancestors,
with that love of novelty which is common to every age, seem
to have been eager to disfigure their old baronial mansions, of
which perhaps they were ashamed, by tacking to them porches,
columns, and other incongruous decorations in the new taste.
SirWalter Aston, however, didnotalter thenoble residence which
his father had built ; but he eclipsed, or (to use the expression
of Erdeswick) defaced it, by ei'ecting the gatehouse immediately
in front, with a wall, reaching from each end of it, to the two

(i) Grandfather of the friend and patron of Drayton.

(98)
corners of ibe old house ; thus forming an inclosed court be-
tween the gatehouse and the mansion, (i)

The gatehouse has three stories, and had a flat roof, covered
with lead, protected on each side by an open balustrade. At each
of the four corners, is an octagon tower, ending in a dome of an
elegant form, tapering to a point, and surmounted by a gilt vane.
The point of the tower is about sixty feet from the ground. The
main building is fifty feet long, and twenty-five broad : the interior
diameter of the towers is eight feet. The centre of the building,
on the ground floor, was an open ai'chway, through which cai'-
riages passed to the great hall door ■ and on either side were lodges
for the poriei's. The two upper stories were divided into apart-
ments for servants, to which access was obtained by a stone stair-
case in one of the towers. The windows are large in the old fa-
shion ; and on each side of every window, is a coupled column ;
on the ground floor of the Doric order, supporting a Doric frieze ;
on the second story^ of the Ionic, and on the third, of the Co-
rinthian.

The old mansion, now a ruin, was budt by Sir Edward Aston,
in i555, about fifty years after the Tixall estate had come to his
family—" This is plain," says Mr. Loxdalc,(2) " from the fol-
lowing words cut extremely well in the lower part of a slool of
one of the windows, and still very fresh. IViUiam Yates made
this house MDLf'." The remains show it to have been built in
the elegant style of Gothic architecture which prevailed in the
reign of Henry VII. These remains are principally the soudi bow

(t) A view of it ia its complete state m;iybc seen In Plot's " Histoiy of
Staffordshire."

(a) Parocli. Antiq. of Staff, peucs March, de Buckingham.

(99)
window of llie great drawing-room, richly decorated on the out-
side, with roses, lozenges, (i) and other Gothic ornaments.

The internal decoration of this drawing room was very singu-
lar : the lower part of the walls being wainscotted, while the
upper part exhibited the naked stone^ tastefully adorned with
sculptured panels, w^ith the heraldic shields of the founders, and
the initial letters of their names, all of stone, and rising in low
relief from the sides of the room. Here in particular, are the
arms of Sir Edward Aston, impaling those of Bolles, with the
motto Laits Deo : and opposite, the Aston arms impaling Sad-
ler • which must have been added more than fifty years after the
former. The east window is a kind of oriel, and the cieling is
elegantly ornamented with various emblematic devices, and the
heraldic coats of four of the principal families, to whom the
Astons were allied ; viz. Montfort, Freville, Byron, and Walsh.
In the centre, is a Buffalo's head, on a wreath, which was the an-
cient family crest ; and in other interstices, are represented

barrels, or tOJis ; which, from the circumstance of their beine

o

placed in the east window, were probably meant as an allusion
to the derivation of the family name; Aston, or E'^ton, from
East-town. All these embellishments are beautifully executed.

The walls of two smaller rooms arc likewise still standing, but
they have now no roof but the thick branches of the ivy, and no
floor but its fallen leaves. Nothing can be moi-edelightlul, than to
contemplate in the different seasons of the year, or at different
times of the day, the mingled effects of light and shade among
these dilapidated, ivied walls. But above all, on a clear, moon-
light night, when all around is still j and when the recollections
and emotions, which such a scene is calculated to excite, are

(i) One of the armorial bearings of Aston.

N 2

( 100 )

awalencd, and exalted by the solemn, congenial serenity ol the
nocturnal heavens — it is then that fancy and feeling will exert
their influence, and take full possession of the mind and heart.

Svich emotions, such recollections, I have endeavoured to ex-
press in the following poem.

MIDNIGHT MEDITATION

AMONG THE

RUINS AT TIXALL,

How sweetly on that mouldering tower,
How sweetly on that ivy-bower,
AVhose branches through the ruins creep
The melancholy moon-beams sleep !
Bright Queen of Heaven ! thy solemn light
Softly sooths my wakeful sight,
To milder feelings tunes my breast,
And lulls my throbbing heart to rest.

What deep-felt charms these Walls disclose !
While all around In dead repose,
On earth, in air, unheard, unseen,
To contemplation leave the scene.
So still the air — the balmy breeze
Scarce whispers through these aged trees ;
So smooth yon limpid lake — it shows
Each star that in the blue vault glows.
A sacred calm pervades the whole,
A soft enchantment rules my soul.
What magic spell enchaius my feet?
Why seem these midnight scenes to sweet !

( 101 )
Ye visions of my infant years !
Though dimly seen through sorrow's tears,
'Tis your entrancing thought supphes
The long-lost images that rise,
Which fix my lingering steps, and still
A sadly-pleasing joy instil.
Twas here — alas ! a weary round
Through rugged, rough, and thorny ground,
My way-worn pilgrim feet have trod.
Since first theyprest this mossy sod —
Twas here — a playful prattling child,
When Life and Nature round me smiled.
With loved companions — now no more !
The frolic group one mother bore —
From morn to eve, in rival toil.
With fragrant flowers we deckt the soil ;
Or pigmy castles raised around.
Till all appeared like fairj' ground.
And sure, we simply thought the while
The old majestic Gothic pile,
Compared with ours, was babies' play.
The work and labour of a day.
The good old nurse prolonged the cheat,
And dear mamma, with kisses sweet,
And fond impartial smiles surveyed
The efforts of each tiny spade.
Where Hope allured, or Fancy led.
Eager in keen pursuit we fled ;
And was the promised pleasure crost.
Straight in new joys the grief was lost.
So flew the laughing hours away.
So rose and set each blissful day.
Though vanished — as they ne'er had been —
The actors both, and flowery scene.

( 102 )
To sad remembrance ever dear,
They claim a sigh, a tender tear.

Hush I — hark ! — from yon sepulchral stone
Methought I heard a hollow groan —
It chills my blood— so deep it came —
AVhat horrors seize my shuddering frame !
Hark — once again — 'tis idle fear —
The place and hour such fancies rear.
It was the owl within the bower,
The lonely tenant of the tower.
Molested in his dark retreat —
Perhaps the echoes of my feet.

How vain are all the schemes of man !
How frail his wisest, best-laid plaa !
Not man alone — his works decay —
His towers and temples — pass away.
Behold those moss-grown ivied walls.
Through which the glimmering moonlight falls
Where screeching owls, and birds obscene.
And crawling vermin creep between —
These once w ith gorgeous baagings drest,
The blazoned shield and towering crest ;
"NVhere conquerors with laurel crowned.
And patriots from the canvas frowned,
Or beauteous dames alternate smiled.
For whom those heroes fought and toiled —
See — o'er their tops the wild ash grows.
And each rank weed luxuriant blows. .
The swallow undisturbed hath hung
Her nest on roofs which erst have rung
With sound of harp and minstrelsy,
Of pageants, pomp, and revelry.

( 'o3 )
When at the high-bora lady's call.
The feast and dance in bannered ball,
At winter-evening's welcome close
To ancient warlike music rose.
No more the mirth-inspiring son"-
Echoes the lofty hall along ;
No more to sprightly notes of pleasure
Swims the light dance in graceful measure.
The festal spot can scarce be found.
While shattered arches strewed around,
And broken columns piled on high.
Confused with crumbling turrets lie.
Of sportive crowds the gay resort
Is now a lonely grass-grown court,
AVliere, on each side, the time-struck wall
Tottering threats a final fall.
The founders' deeply graven name,
Which fondly hoped a lasting fame
In love-knots carved on many a stone
With noxious plants is overgrown ;
The curious eye can hardly trace
Its proudly once distinguished place.
Perchance, where yonder casement gleams.
Just chequered by the moon's pale beams,
As waving through the lattice, twine

The mountain-ash and eglantine

Some love-sick maid, at such an hour.
Sleepless within the silent tower ;
Rapt in lost scenes of past delight,
Or fancied visions of the night.
Gazing has stood with tearful eye,
While Love has breathed his softest sigh.
Hard by this dismal dreary room.
Where darkness spreads a deathlike gloom.

( io4 )

And the foul lurking adder breeds

Midst sculptured fragmenis clioaked with weeds ;

Where solitude aud silence reign,

Aud desolation leads her train :

HerC; on this damp-encumbered floor,

Once stood the hospitable Door,

To want and pining misery dear,

And loved by all the couulry near ;

When, as successive ages rolled.

The steel-clad knight, or baron bold.

In arms, and well-fought fields grown gray.

Here calmly closed life's parting day.

For heroes here their eyes have closed.

And statesmen from their toils reposed ;

And sages, won by Nature's charms.

Have wooed her to their longing arms ;

And poets here have struck the lyre.

And caught the soul-iuflaming fire.

Which, as it thrilled their nerves along.

And woke the hidden powers of song,

To distant times again addrest.

Shall raise the mind, and warm the breast.

Now sinks the fading oib of night ;
The stars withdraw their twinkling light ;
And seem in Fancy's ear to say.
We too are fated to decay.

O thou ! Almighty Power Supreme !
Wliose bounty gives this nightly beam ;
Who pourest on the wondering soul
This dazzling blaze from pole to pole ;
Though hid from my imploring eye,
Thy works declare thee ever uigh.

( io5)

O teach me clearly to conceive,

O teach me firmly to believe,

That from this wreck of mortal things,

To which our sense so fondly clings —

That from this dark bewildered state.

Entangled in the maze of fate,

A fair harmonious Scene shall rise —

A'Vhen, opened to our anxious eyes,

Cleared from all mist of doubt and fear,

Tliy perfect Justice shall appear.

Guide me through Life's perplexing way.

Cheer me with Hope's auspicious ray:

May simple joys my cares beguile.

May love and friendship on me smile;

Till my rapt soul from earth set free.

Shall seek eternal rest in Thee ! A.. C.

o

NOTES.

( 109 )

(A)

This Earl Roger, to whom a part of Tixall was given by the
Conqueror, was Roger de Monte Gomerico, or De Montgomery,
in Normandy. He was descended from Weva, sister to Guunora,
Duchess of Normandy, and great grandmother to the Conquei-or.
Being one of the greatest men in that duchy, he accompanied
his kinsmauj Duke William, into England, and led the main
body of his army at the memorable battle of Hastings, which se-
cured to that victorious hero the throne of this realm. In recom-
pense of his services, he was created Earl of Chichester and
Arundel, and afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury. To these titles and
honours were added vast possessions and estates j in Wiltshire
5 lordships, Surrey 4? Hants g, Middl. 8, Cambr. ii, Herts 2,
Glouc. I, Wore. 2, Warw. 11, Staff. 5o, Sussex 67 ; in all, i58
manors or lordships, besides the city of Chichester, and city of
Shrewsbury, where he built a castle, and almost the whole of
Shropshire.

He aftenvards obtained from the Conqueror, together with
Rob. Fitz-Hamon, and some other knights, a grant of whatever
they could obtain by force of arms from the Welsh. Upon
which, he entered the province of Powisland in Wales, and won
the castle and town of Baldwin ; fortified it, and called it Mont-
gomery after his ovax name, which it has retained to this day.

( ''1 )

In this expediilon, he also took possession of Cardigan, and did
homage for it to the king. — (Dugd. Bar. vol. i . p. 26.)

Earl Roger was twice married; Grst, to Mabel, daughter and
heiress of William Talvace de Belesme, a great Noi-man baron,
with whom he had a large inheritance at Belesme, and else-
where in Normandy. She brought him five sons and four
daughters :

1. Robert de Belesme, who succeeded his father in Nor-
mandy.

2. Hugo de Montgomery, who was heir to his English estates.
5. Roger of Poilou, Earl of Lancaster.

4. Philip, who applied to literature, and became a priest.

5. Arnulph, who having no inheritance, betook himself to feats
of arms, and conquered Pembrokeshire, where he built and for-
tified the castle of Pembroke, of which place he was made earl by
William the Conqueror.

Of his daughters :

1. Emma, became an abbess.

2. Maud, was married 10 Robert, Earl of Moreton, half bro-
ther to the Conqueror.

5. Mabel, to Hugh, de Novo Casiello.

4. Sibil, to Rob. Fitz-Hamon, Lord of Corbeil, in Normandy.
— (Dug. ibid. p. 27.)

The second wife of Earl Rogei-, was Adelina de Pusaie ; by
whom he had one son, Ebrard, who became a priest, and was
domestic chaplain to Henry L

" On the first voyage of this lady, his second wife, out of
Normandy into England, there happened so great a storm at sea,
that nothing but shipwreck was expected by the mariners j a cer-
tain priest, who was her chaplain, being much wearied with
long watching, fell very fast asleep ; when there appeared to him
a comely matron, who said thus : — ' If your lady would be pre-

( 1'2 )

Served from the danger of this dreadful tempest, let her vow to
God, that she will build a church to the honour of St. Mary Mag-
dalen, in the place where she shall first meet the earl her hus-
band, in England, and especially^ where a hollow oak groweth
near a hogsty/ When he awoke, he told all this to his lady, who
soon made her vow accordingly ; whereupon the tempest ceased,
and she, with her attendants, came safe to shore. After a journey
of several days towards her husband, she met him hunting, at a
place where such an oak then grew 3 and relating to him, what
had happened, moved him to fulfil her vow. He forthwith as-
senting, caused a church to be built, and endowed it with ample
possessions." — (Ibid.)

Earl Roger was a man of extraordinary piety and devotion ; and
founded and endowed several religious houses both in England
and Normandy. Some time before his death, bidding adieu to
all worldly honours and distinctions, this great and powerful
baron retired into the abbey of Shrewsliury, which he himself
had founded ; where, being shorn a monk, and putting on the
habit of the severe order of Cluni, he spent the remainder of
his days in the rigorous and humiliating practices of monastic
devotion; and died there in sentiments of fervent piety in the
year 1094-

" The character, which Order. Vltalis gives of Earl Roger,
is, that he was a very prudent and moderate man ; a great lover
of equity, and of discreet and modest persons : and that he had
three clergymen about him, by whose counsels he was always
prosperously guided. He gave the governorship of Shrewsbury
to Warine the Bald, who had married his niece ; a man of small
stature, but great spirit ; by whose valour, and skilful conduct,
he kept the Welsh in awe, and that whole province in peace.
Besides his two sons, Robert and Roger, who look a share in all
his enterprises, he had several persons under him of known wis-

( io3)
dom and courage 3 by whom being freely assisted, he was as glo-^
iious among the greatest nobles, as any of them all." — (Ibid.)

Hugh de Mbntgomery, second son of Earl Roger, was pro-
bably the Hugo mentioned in Domesday-book, as holding a part
of Tixall, under Rob. de Statfoi'd. Having engaged in con-
spiring, with Ptob. de Mowbray, and others, in the murder of
W- Rufus ; he was discovered, and obliged to pay 3, 000/. to ob-
tain his pardon. He afterwards marched into Wales, where he
exercised the most savage and horrible cruelties upon the inha-
bitants : but being called to the sea-coast, to prevent the descent
of the Norwegians, under their king Magnus, he was slain by an
arrow froni one of their vessels. Giraldus Cambr. in his "^ Des-
cription of Anglesey," gives the following extraordinary account
of his death : " There isj in this isle, a church of St. Teuredaucus
the Confessor j in which. Earl Hugh (after he had subjugated these
parts of Wales) having kenneled his dogs all night, found them
every one mad next morning : and he himself died a miserable
death, within a month after. For hearing that certain pirates were
come to the haven of this island, he hastened to oppose their land-
ing : when the principal commander of them, called Magnus,
standing at the fore-end of the boat, with a bow in his hand, let
flie an arrow at our earl, then armed cap-a-pee, so that no en-
trance could be made, except through his helmet, at the sights
of his eyes : but so fatally was that arrow directed, that it passed
through his head-piece upon his right eye, and piercing his brain,
caused him to fall headlong into the sea."

His dead body was carried to the abbey of Shrewsbury, and
there buried in the cloysters with great lamentations.

His lands devolved to his elder brother, Rob. de Belesme ; who,
on paying a fine of 3, 000/. to the king, was put in possession of
his inheritance, and made Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury.

Rob. de Belesme had been girt with the sword of knighthood,

( "5)

by William the Conqueror, for his bravery iu No miandy, aud
grew into such esteem with that great monarch, that he conferred
much honor upon him ; so that he excelled most of the nobility of
Normandy in glory^ having very great possessions there, and
many strong casdes. Nevertheless, no sooner was the Conque-
ror dead, but his turbulent and I'esdess disposition began to show
itself. He joined the party of Robert Curthose, against William
Rufus, and Henry I. and never ceased, for fifteen years, to do
them all the mischief he could, disturbing them on evei'y occasion,
and seducing others to do the like. The character given of him
is most odious. He is said to have been a very subtle, crafty,
and deceitful man ; big of body, strong, and bold ; powerful in
arms, and eloquent j but exceedingly cruel, covetous, and li-
bidinous. A person of great insight in serious affairs, and un-
wearied in his managing of worldly business ; likewise a most in-
genious architect J but for inflicting of torments a most inexorable
butcher : no friend at all to the church, but a vile and wretched op-
pressor. For his wickedness, he was excommunicated, aud all his
lands interdicted; so that no burial could be had therein : yet was
he nothing reformed by any of these means. In brief, there can be
no higher expressions of the most barbarous and cruel tyrant that
ever was, than of him ; his severity being exercised not only to
strangers, but even to friends and familiars ; glorying, and
making his boast among his parasites, of his unparalleled inhu-
manities."

Having broken into open rebellion against Henry I. he forti-
fied all his castles in England, and began to build a new one in
Wales, where it is said he introduced a famous race of Spanish
horses. However the king soon got thebetterof him, and reduced
liimto such a desperate condition, that he was obliged to implore
his clemency. Acknowledging his crime of treason, he ollered
the kingthekeysof the town of Shrewsbury; which he graciously

accepted, suffering him to have safe conduct with horse and
arms to the sea coast : but stripped him of all his honours, and
seized on the possessions of those who had adhered to him in his
rebellion. His banishment gave the most general joy to the
whole kingdom, that thej were thus rid of so great a tyrant, and
such a savage oppressor: (or he was so stupendously cruel, that
he rather chose to inflict miserable torments on poor captives,
than receive even a great sum for their redemption.

Being banished from England, there was little respect shown
to him in Normandy, scarce any one there abiding him j yet his
wealth, which he had treasured up in thirty-four strong castles,
formerly built for his rebellious purposes, supported him suf-
ficiently : of which, though besides this, he did solely possess all
his father's great inheritance in those parts, yet such was his in-
humanity, he would afford his brothers no share at all ; notwith-
standing their distresses arose entirely from his misconduct. His
brothers having forsaken him, hedurst not confide in any one j and
having been so terrible to others, could not trust those of his
own party : yet such was his proneness to evil, iliat he forbore
not to lay hold on any occasion to act mischief. He now attacked
Robert Curthose, whom he had formerly supported, and com-
pletely routed him ; with which success he was so elated, that
scorning the duke, he aimed at no less than the subjugating all
Normandy to his own power, and in effect accomplished it : for
the people having no head to flee to, were necessitated to submit
to him. Duke Piobert was obliged to make peace with him ;
but his brother King Henry, coming over from England with a
powerful army, obtained an absolute victory, and took him pri-
soner : when considering that no favour could win him, nor oath
or promise bind him, he summoned him before a court of justice,
by judgment of which he was committed to close imprisonment ;
and being brought oyer to England, lingered out the wretched
remnant of his days in a prison at Wai-eham, in Dorsetshire.

C 1^5 )
Henry de Huntendou, one of our ancient historians, in that
excellent epistle of his " De contemptu mundi," written to a
friend in the reign of Henry II. has given the following account of
Rob. de Belesme : — " Thou hast seen Rob. de Belesme, a prince
in Normandy cast into prison. He was a Pluto, Megera, Cerberus,
or whatever else can be expressed that is most horrid. He would
not permit poor captives to be redeemed, but murther them ;
and under pretence of playing with his own little godson, he thrust
out his eyes with his thumbs. He used to thrust sharp stakes
through the bodies of men and women, and the greatest slaugh-
ter of people was his chief delight : so that it was commonly said
of him as in a proverb, ' The wonders of Rob. de Belesme.' But
let us come to his end, a thing most desirable : he who had
so torlui'ed others with imprisonment, was himself cast into pri-
son, and there long tormented till his death • which he so much
endeavoured to effect by hunger, that it was scarce discemable
whether he were living or dead j and being speechless, could not
express the sense he had of death."

This once mighty earl married Agnes, daughter of Guy, Earl
ofPonthieu, whom he used most barbarously, keeping her along
time prisoner in his castle at Belesme ; till by means of a ser-
vant, she made her escape^ and fled to the Countess of Chartres,
never returning to her cruel husband.

Roger, third son of the Earl of Montgomery, surnamed of Poi-
tou, because he married a lady of that country, had nothing at
all of his father's inheritance, but being a military man, was ad-
vanced to the title of aneai'lj and lived for a time in great wealth
and power : having the earldom of Lancaster, and all that part of
Lancashire which lies between theRibble and the Mersey ; with
ohetr great possessions, in that, and other counties^ of the
Conqueror's gift.
Indeed, the wonderful extent of territory granted by King

( n6)
William to this family, almost exceeds belief. For besides the vast
estates, already enumerated, which were given to the Earl of Mont-
gomery, his third son Roger, had, besides the lands in Lancashire,
just mentioned, as much more in that county, as made up the
number of 188 manors; also, in Yorksh. 76, Essex 5, Sufl'. 5q,
Notts II, Derb. 7, JXorf. lo, and 44 i" Lincolnshire.

But they were all in a few years brought to entire ruin, and in
England utterly extirpated ! For the outrageous and atrocious
misconduct of Rob. de Belesme so heightened King Henry's dis-
pleasure and anger against him, that he could not endure any of
his relations ; but caused his brothers, Roger de Poitou, and Ar-
nulph, who were both wealthy earls, to be driven out of the king-
dom ; and the whole family became so odious to him, that he
even took away the lands, which their father Roger de Mont-
gomery had bestowed on the convent of which their sister Emma
was abbess, and gave them to one of his soldiers ! ! — (Dugd. Bar.
vol. I. p. 28, 29, 3o.)

("7)

(B) STAFFORD.

The other proprietor of Tixall, mentioned in Domesday-
book, was Robert de Statford, or Stafford ; so called from his
residence at Stafford-castle. His original name was Rob. de
Toeni ; and he was son of Roger de Toeni, standard-bearer of
Normandy : who was descended from Malahulcius, uncle to the
famous RoUo, Duke of Normandy, and progenitor of William
the Conquei'or. — (Dug. ib. p. i56.)

At the time of the general survey, R.ob. de Stafford was pos-
sessed of two lordships in Suff. Wore, i, Northampt. i. Line.
20, Warw. 26, Staff. 81, in all i3o.

He had a brother, called Nigel, who possessed Drakelow,
and eleven lordships in Derbyshire. Sir Nigel Gresley, his des-
cendant, is in possession of Drakelow, at this day.

Rob. de Staflbrd's grandson, of the same name, had a son,
who died without issue ; and a daughter, called Milisent, who
was heiress to his honours and estates, and married (iig4) Hervey
Bagot, a gentleman of an ancient family: who, on paying a fine
of 3oo marks to the king, had livery of the barony of Stafford,
and bore the title of Lord Stafford, (i)

Edmund de Stafford, his descendant, was summoned to par-
liament among the barons of England, by Edward 1.

Ralph, his son and heir, was one of the founders of the Most

(1) They were put to such a strcight to raise this fine, that they were
obliged to sell the lordship of Drayton, to the canous of St. Thomas, uear
Stafford.

( n8)

Noble Order of the Garter. He commanded in the van of the
army, at the ever glorious bailie of Cressy ; and was raised by
Edward III. to the dignity of Earl of Stafford. He gave a piece
of land, near the bridge at Stafford, to found a church and con-
vent of Austin Friars : which continued till the great dissolu-
tion of monasteries, by Hen. VIII. at which time, the splendid
tombs, and other monumcnls of this illustrious family were bro-
ken and destroyed.

Edmund, Earl Stafford, his grandson, who was slain, with
Hotspur, ai the battle of Shrewsbury, i4o5, formed a most il-
lustrious alliance for his family : having married Anne, daughter
of Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of Edw. III. which lady
Avas also, fiuallv, sole heir of her mother Eleanor, daughter and
coheir of Humphrey de Bohun, the great Earl of Hereford ; and
accordingly, after her mothei-'s death, she obtained her share of
that vast inheritance.

Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, their son, was created Duke of
Buckingham, by Henry VI. and had precedence of all the peers
of the realm, after the blood royal. He was killed at the battle of
Northampton as his son had been, Cveyearsbefore, at the battle of
St. Albans.

Henry, Duke of Buckingham, his grandson, was the favou-
rite of Richard HI. but entering into rebellion against him, he was
taken and beheaded, in the first year of his reign, (i)

Off with his head — so much for Buckingham!

The family of Stafford, which had thus risen to such an exalted

(i) When Banaster, his servant, who betrayed him, applied to King
Rlch.ird for the reward of i,oooZ. which had been promised to any one
who would discover where the duke was hid, the king refused to give
him any thing at all, sapng, " that he who could be untrue to so good a
master, would be false to all others.'' — (Dugd. from Stow and Hohngsh.)

("9)
pitch of opulence and honour, was now on the brink of ex-
tinction and ruin. But Edward, Duke of Buckingham, son of the
last Duke, was restored to all his estates and honors, by Henry
VII. in whose service his father had lost his life. At the begin-
ning of Henry Vlllth's reign, he was also in greatfavour with that
king, and was certainly the first subject then in the realm. He
received the first writ, of all the peers, to Henry's first par-
liament : and it was addressed to "Our most dear cousin, Edward
Stafford." But his own indiscretion, in frequently talking of his
right to the throne, in case of Henry's death ; and the malice and
revenge of Cardinal Wolsey, whom he had offended, brought him
to destruction. Like his father, he was betrayed by one of his
own servants ; a steward, or surveyor, whom he had discharged
for extortion, and other oppressive acts. The cardinal took this
man into his own service, in order to facilitate the duke's ruin j
and never omitted any opportunity of hinting to the king strange
surmises of the duke's unfaithfulness and disaffection to his ma-
jesty. The first quari'el between the duke and cardinal, arose
out of the famous interview between Francis I. and Henry, ia
France, in the field, called the '^ Field of Gold Cloth," where the
Duke of Buckingham displayed a magnificence little inferior to that
the two kings j but afterwards complained very much of the ex-
travagance of the expence, and laid the blame of the Avhole upon
the cardinal. Soon after, another incident happened, which
contributed not a little to increase the cardinal's hatred against
him. The duke, according to his place, holding the silver bason
for the king to wash his hands, Henry had no sooner done, than
Wolsey dipped his fingei's into the water ; but the duke disdain-
ing to hold the bason for a man of such mean extraction, though
then a cardinal, spilt some of the water in his shoes. This the
cardinal highly I'esented, and said, " He would sit on his skirts
for it." Next day the duke appeared £\t court without any skirts to

C I30 )

his doublet, and being asked the reason by the king, repled, it was
to prevent the cardinal from sitting down upon them. Wolsey
pursued his machinations against him, and aggravating every re-
port in prejudice of the duke to its greatest height, the king at last
declared, " That if the duke deserved punishment it should be in-
flicted on him accordingly." He was presently taken into cus-
tody, and committed to the Tower ; and a bill of high treason
being found against him, he was solemnly tried by his peers in
Westminster-hall. The Duke of Norfolk^ who had married his
daughter, sat as President, and having pronounced sentence of
death upon him with tears in his eyes ; the unhappy duke repliedj
" My Lord of Norfolk, you have spoken as a traitor should be
spoke to, but I never was one; but my lords, I do not reproach
you for what you have done ; may the eternal God forgive you
my death, as I do : I'll never sue to the king for my life, though
he is a gracious prince, and may shew more mercy than I desire.
I desire you my loi'ds, and all my fellow-subjects, to pray for
me . " The edge of the axe being then turned towards the d uke, he was
conducted towards the barge, in order to be carried back to the
Tower, when Sir Thos. Lovel, desiring him to sit on the cushion
and carpet provided for him, he said, " No, for when I went to
Wesminster I was Duke of Buckingham, but I am now Edward Bo-
hunonly, the most caitiff of the world." It seems he affected the sui'-
name of Bohun before that of Stafford, being descended from the
great family of the Bohuns, Earls of Hereford. As he was con-
veyed through the city, being landed at the Temple, most of the
people seemed to pity him, while others ci'ied out, *' This is the
end of a bad life, God forgive him, he was a proud prince; 'tis
pity he behaved himself so undutifully to his liege lord, whom
God preserve." Itis supposed thatifhehadcondescendedtopetition
the king, his life would have been spared ; but all the favour that
was shown him, was a message from the king, declaring that his sen-

SIR ^nL 1. 1 A 31 HO^VAKU K.B.
^aSCOUAT STAFFORD.

<^ro/u a L /a9u/7//./n' t/i f/^- -^^^eJti^/i <>/ K.JKRXiXGH.iM Cia.

( 121 )

tence was mitigated so far, that instead of receiving the death of a
traitor, his head should be cut off; and after his execution, Henry
caused a consolatory letter to be written to his duchess, and to
his son Lord Stafford.

His hard fate was much lamented both at home and abroad •
and when theEmperor Charles V. heard of it, alluding toWolsey's
extraction, who was supposed to be the son of a butcher, he
said, " A butcher's dog has worried to death the finest buck in
England."

He was the lasf. ir.ereditaiy lord high constable, which dignity
came to him from the Earls of Hereford ; and being thus for-
feited, was never after restored in this kingdom.

His son, thus eclipsed, and " shorn of his beams," bore the
title of Baron Stafford; and obtained, some years after, a grant
of the castle and manor of Stafford, with some other of his father's
lands.

This Lord Stafford's great grandson, had a son, who died un-
married, and a daughter, who inherited the honors and estates
of the family.

She married Sir William Howard, (thii-d son of Thomas, Earl
of Arundel, the discoverer of the Arundelian marbles,) who, in
1646, was created Baron, and afterwards Viscount Stafford :
and she was made Baroness Stafford in her own right.

But the misfortunes of this family were not yet complete. In
1680, Lord Stafford was impeached by the House of Commons,
for being concerned in Oates's plot; and by a most unjust sen-
tence, was pronounced guilty of high treason, and brought to the
scaffold. Hume, in his History of England, (vol. 8. p. i4o,) has
given a very eloquent and pathetic account of his trial and execu-
tion, to which I refer the reader. The principal evidence against
him, was that of Dugdale, who had been steward to Lord Aston,

( 122 )

and was discharged from his service for misconduct. This man
gave testimony, that Lord Stafford, when on a visit at Tixall,
had endeavoured to engage him in the design of murdering the
king ; and that he had also assisted at a great consultation of
Catholics, held at Tixall, for the same purpose. It appears, that
Lord Aston was, with some other Catholic lords, imprisoned in
the tower; but Lord Stafford was selected to be the victim of po-
pular phrenzy, and the rage of party.

" This is the last blood," says Hume, " which was shed on
account of the popish plot : an incident, which for the credit of
the nation, it were better to bury in eternal oblivion, but which
it is necessary to perpetuate, as well to maintain the truth of his-
tory, as to warn, if possible, their posterity, and all mankind,
never again to fall into so shameful, so bai'barous a delusion."

The following verses on the trial and death of Lord Viscount
Stafford, are selected from a scarce poetical miscellany, entitled
" A Collection of Loyal Poems, all of them written upon the
iwo late Plots, viz. : The horrid Salamanca Plot, in 1678, and
the present Fanatical Conspiracy, in 1 685 ; to which is added. Ad-
vice to the Carver, written on the death of the late Lord Stafford.
With several Poems on their Majesties' Coronation, never be
fore published. Collected by N. T. (Nalh. Thompson,) i685."

As these lines were probably written by an eye-witness of the
event, and possess, moreover, much iniinnsic merit, I conceive
they will not be unacceptable to the reader.

Stafford's great name in old records did sleep,

And lay regardless 'mongst the common heap,

With dust and rubbish almost covered o'er :

Thy selling sun its lustre does restore.

Whenever fair Aslrasa shows her face,

And slow-paced Truth shall faction's rage displace,

It will be said of thy old Norfolk line,

" Some with their blood are siained, and others shine.''

( 123 )

Next lead him from the prison to the bar,

The place of combat, and the seat of war.

Bring him through all the barbarous noise and shout

Of an insulting and blood-thirsty rout;

Nearly allied in manners, cause, and cry,

To that old Tribe that bellowed " Crucify."

But these harsh sounds were music to his ear,

Whose Christian heart knew neither g-Mi/i, nor fear.

Now, in the circle of the theater.

All England did epitomiz'd appear.

Each in their several ranks themselves diffuse^

The Peers to try, the Commons to accuse :

Lawyers to plead, the witnesses to swear.

People to gaze. Ladies to see and hear.

But this assembly shall hereafter know,

God and his angels were spectators too.

Willi awful pomp here Justice seemed enthroned —

The sword she bore, the balance was postponed.

As some East Indian Carrack, homeward bound,

Of earth's vast globe having gone all the round,

Twice cut the Line, and with bold canvas run,

Beyond the limits of its rival sun ■

Making to its native port j — the cheerful gale

With joy each heart, with wind fills every sail :

So does our Hero, now from storms releast.

Move to the scaffold, as his place of rest.

The scaffold steps did Jacob's ladder seem.

The scaffold was a monarch's throne to him.

For those who caused his death was his last prayer ;

And his last words his innocence declare.

Stafford, farewell : may thy pacific blood

Of crimes and judgments stop the raging flood;

Our blindness cure, and by a holycharm.

Of its dread thunder angry heaven disarm !

Q 2

( 124)

In i685. Lord Stafford's attainder was reversed by the lords,
but the bill was thrown out by the commons.

His eldest son Henry, was created Earl of Stafford, by
James II. and his last male descendant was John-Paul-Staflbrd
Howard, fourth earl j who dying without issue, in i'y62,his es-
tates devolved to his sister Mary, wife of Faucis Plowden, Esq.
of Plowden, in Shropshire: whose daughter, Mary, married Sir
George Jerningham, Bart, of Cossey in Norfolk, and carried
the estates, and dormant honors of Stafford, into that ancient and
respectable family (i)

(i) See Appendix, No. IV.

( 125 )

(C) FERRERS.

Ipse comes tenet Tichesale elHenricus Ferrieres tie eo.

The earl himself holds Tichesale, and Henry Ferrieres holds of
him. — (See Intro d. p. 16.)

This Henry Ferrieres, or de Ferrariis, who took his name from
the castle of Ferrieres, in Normandy, was one of the commis-
sioners appointed by the Conqueror, to the high and mighty em-
ployment of making the general survey of England, recorded in
Domesday-book ; from which it is evident he must have been a
person of great knowledge and integrity. — (Dugd. ib. p. 267. —
See Appendix No. I.)

Henry was son of Walcheline de Ferriers, a Norman ; and was
a baron of great wealth and power ; for he possessed 20 lord-
ships in Berks, Essex 5, Wilts 3, Oxf. 7, Warw. 6, Line. 2,
Bucks 2, Glouc. 1, Heref. 1, Hants 5, Notts. 3, Lcic. 55, Derby
114, Staff. 7, besides the castle of Tutbury, where he re-
sided. (1)

Near this place, he founded a monastery of Cluniac monks, and

(]) This castle, which is romantically situated on a rock of alabaster,
overhanging the river Dove, was afterwards celebrated as the residence of
the famous John o! Gaunt •, and for the Court of the Minstrels, and the
bull-running which he there instituted- It was also one of the many
places to which the Queen of Scots has given celebrity by her imprison-
ments. She lived several years in Tutbury-castle, under the care of Sir
Ralph Sadler, who treated her with the greatest respect, and kindest at-
tention. (See his " State Papers," vol. 2.) She was a prisoner here at
the time of the Duke of J\'orfolk"s intrigues, and listened to his proposals,
as the only means of ohtalinug her liberty. This incident is sweetly al-
luded to, by the delightfully descriptive poet of Needwood Forest :

( 126)
amply endowed it with lands and revenues, his wife Berta having
given a manor, and the whole town of Dubbridge to it before.

Henry deFerrieres wassucceededby hissonPiobert, who wasone
of the w itnesses to the laws made by King Stephen in the first year
of his reign. Having brought up, and commanded the Derbyshire
men, in that famous battle, (i 1 58) called " of the Standard," near
North Allerton, where the Northern Barons obtained a glorious
victory against David King of Scots j he Avas, for that service, ad-
vanced to the earldom of Derby.

Robert de Ferrers, his son and heir, succeeded him in ii3g:
who styled himself Comes de Ferraris, and de Nottingham. This
Robert was a great benefactor to several religious houses, and
in particular to the abbey of Merevale in Warwickshire, which
he founded, and wdiere his body was buried, being wrapt in an
ox's hide, according to his desire.

William de Ferrers, his son, (i) certified, on the levying the
aid for the marriage of the king's daughter, 12 Henry 2, that he
held 79 knights' fees ; for which he paid 68 marks. (A knight's
fee was commonly from 600 to 800 acres. A mark, was i5s. 4d.)
He confirmed, to the monks of Tutbury, all the grants which
had been made to them by his father and grandfather : and hav-
ing caused the body of Henry Ferrers, his ancestor, to be trans-
lated into the church of Tutbury, on the right hand of the high
altar, he gave the monks an additional oxgang of land, on the
day of the translation. He accompanied King Richard the First
to the Holy Land • and when that prince returning to En-
There captive Man' looked in vain
For Norfolk, and her nuptial train •,
Enriched \\\\.\\ royal tears the Dove,
But sighed for freedom, not for love.

(i) Upon the authority of my learned friend Mr. Pipe Wolferstan, I
have omitted two generations after this William de Ferrers, which Dugdale
appears to have set down by mistake.

( ^27 )
gland, and after his adventures in Palestine, and his imprisonment
in Austria^ thought proper to have a second coronation, this
William de Ferrers was one of the four noblemen, who on
that occasion, carried the rich canopy over the lung's head.

lu 1 John he was solemnly created Earl of Derby by a special
charter ; and was girt with a sword, bj the king's own hands :
being the first, as Selden remarks, (Tit. of Hon. p. 655j of whom
in any charter that expression is used. He likewise obtained
a grant of the third penny, of all the Pleas impleaded before the
sherift', of the whole county whereof he was earl • to hold to him
and his heirs, in as ample a manner, as any of his ancestors had
enjoyed the same.

King John bestowed many other favours upon him, for which
this earl was so grateful, that when John was reduced to the last
extremity by the powerful barons who had combined against him,
and was deposed by the pope ; he took his solemn oath for the
king's performance of the articles to which he had submitted ;
and was likewise one of the witnesses to that charter by which
John gave up this realm to the Pope. Soon after, the king gave
him a house in London, to hold by the service, that he and his
heirs, should serve the king at dinner, upon all festivals, without
any cap, having a garland on his head of the breadth of his little
finger.

After the death of King John, the Earl of Derby was firm in his
loyalty and attachment to his infant son and successor Henry 111. ;
in the second year of whose reign, he made a journey to Palestine,
with Ranulph, Earl of Chester, a common practice among the great
in those days, (i) He marriedAgnes, one of the sisters and co-

(i) Upon his return, when he was at sea, there happening a dreadful
storm, he asked the mariners, how long it was then to midnight ? and

( 128 )
heirs of that earl, -with whom he obtained a great inheritance,
consisting ol all the land which lies between the Ribble and JVlersey,
in Lancashire ; which had foi'merly belonged to PiicharddePoitou,
third son of Roger de Montgomery, the great Earl of Shrewsbury .(i )
By this marriage the manor and castle of Chartley in Staffordshire,
also came to thefamily of Ferrers. Having been longalllicted with
the gout, iheEarlofDerby departed this life 3iH.3. -andhiscoun-
tess died the same month. M. Paris affirms, that they were mar-r
ried, by St, Thomas of Canterbury, in the reign of Henry II., and
that they lived together as man and wife yS years. Wm. de Fer-
rers, his son, succeeded to the honoui's and estates of the family.
He mai'ried Sibil, daughter and coheir ofWm. INIareschal, Earlof
Pembroke ; by whom he had 7 daughters, who were all married to
great lords of that time. By Margaret his second wife, dughter and
coheir ot Roger deQuincy, Earl of Winchester, hehad two sons,
Robt, who succeeded him in the earldom of Derby, andWm., who

they told him, it was almost two hours. Said he then, labour- till thai
time, and I trust to God the tempest will cease. But when midnight ap-
proached, the tempest increased so much, that the master of the ship bad
him commend himself to God, for they were all like to perish : where-
upon he went out of his cabin, and stoutly assisting them, the tempest
soon assuaged. The day following therefore, when the seas were calm,
and the danger clearly over, the master asked him, why he would not stir
to assist them till midnight ; telling him, that his help was then more than
all the mariners in the ship. Quoth he, because my monks, and other
devout people, -who were of mine, and my ancestors foundation, did then
rise to sing divine seruice. For that reason therejore, did I put confi-
dence in their prayers ,• and therefore, my hope is, that God Almighty
for their prayers and suffrages, would give me such strength as Ihadnol
before, and assuage the tempest, as I foretold."— {Du§. Bar. vol. i, p. 43-)
(f) See note A.

( T29 )

seated himself at Groby, in Leicestershire, which was a part of his
mother's inheritance, (i) Earl William, who like his father, had
been sorely afflicted with the gout, even from his youth, was accus-

(i) From these two brothers, spruug some of the most noble and illus-
trious families ia England. From the eldest, Robert, Earl of Derby, des-
cended by the female line :

1 The family of Devereux, Viscounts Hereford, and Earls of Essex ; of
^Yhom was Robert, Earl ofEssex,thecelebrated favourite oCQueen Elizabeth.

2 The family of Shirley, now Earls Ferrers, and owners of Chartley.
3- The late Marquis Townsen^fl, who, in right of his mother, great

grand-daughter of Earl Ferrers, enjoyed the barony of Ferrers de Chart-
ley, and the castle of Tamworth ; which last descended by a female, from
the Marmions, its ancient possessors, to the Freviles ; and from them, in
like manner, to a branch of the family of Ferrers. The male line of this
illustrious name is still preserved in the person of Edward Ferrers, Esq.
of Baddesley, in the county of Warwick ; who is lineally descended from Sir
Henry Ferrers, Knt. second son of Sir Thomas Ferrers and Elizabeth Fre-
ville, above-mentioned, and who is married to a daughter of the late Mar-
quis Townshend, by which the two lines were again united, after a separa-
tion of above 3oo years.

From William, brother to Robert, Earl of Derby, descended the
family of Ferrers, Barons of Groby, of whom was William, the fifth and
last baron of that race. He died in i445, leaving two sons, Henry and
Thomas. (Thomas married one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir Bald-
win de Freville, and was ancestor to the Ferrers of Tamworth ; which
family ended in a female, who married the Hon. Robert Shirley, son of
Earl Ferrers, representative of the eldest branch of Ferrers, Earls of
Derby.) Henry, eWe^^ son of William, last Baron of Groby, died before
his father ; leaving by his wife Elizabeth Mowbrav, daughter of Thomas,
Duke of Norfolk, an only daughter and heiress, who married Sir Edward
Grey, second son of Reginald, Lord Grey de Ruthin.

(Bolton, in bis " Extinct Peerage," says of Grey ; " A most noble ex-

R

( i3o)
tomed to be dra\vn from place to place in a chariot ; and passing
over a bridge in Huntington, he was overturned through the

tended family of barons, viscounts, earls, marquisses, and dukes, in
twelve different branches of peerage.")

Sir Edward Grey was summoned to Parliament, as Lord Ferrers of
Groby, 2-1 Henry 6. ; and was succeeded by his son Sir John Grey, who
married the daughter of Woodville, Earl Rivers. He was slain at the bat-
tle of St. Albans, 3g Henry 6, leaving issue two sons, Sir Thomas Grey
and Sir Richard, both knights. (Sir Richard Grey was afterwards be-
headed at Pomfret, by order of King Richard the Third.) Their mother
became the queen of Edward the Fourth ; and through her interest, her
eldest son Sir Thomas Grey, was created Earl of Huntingdon and Mar-
quis of Dorset. His grandson Henry, married, i. Catherine, daughter of
William Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundell, by whom he had no issue. 2. Lady
Frances, eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suftblk, by Mary
the French queen, sister of Henry VIIL His wife's brothers, dying with-
out issue, this Marquis of Dorset was created Duke of Suflblk, by Ed-
ward VL ; and after that king's death,his eldest daughter, the beautiful, the
accomplished, the heroic Lady Jane Grey, (who married Guildford Dudley^
fourth son of the Duke of Northumberland,) was proclaimed queen in op-
position to Queen Mary, for which, she and her husband were beheaded.
Her father the Duke of Suffolk, was then spared ; but entering again into
an insurrection against the queen, he was obliged to conceal himself in a
hollow tree in his park at Astley ; and being basely betrayed by his keeper,
was beheaded on Tower-hill.

His widow, the Lady Frances, niece of Henry VHL was buried in West-
miuster-abbey, under a tomb of alabaster, on which are these lines :

Nil decus, aut splendor, nil regia nomina prosunt,

Splendida divitiis nil juvat ampla domus.
Omnia fluxerunt ! virtutis sola remausit

Gloria, tartareis non abolcnda rogis.

( lOI )

heedlessness of ihe driver ; and had his limbs so bruised and bro-
ken by the fall, ihathe died in consequence of it, in the year ]2o4,
and was buried in the abbey of Marevale. He bore the reputation
of a discreet man, and of being well versed in the laws of the
land.

Robt. Earl of Derby, was the last earl of this great family. Being
a minor at his father's death, the Queen, and Peter de Savoy, gave
6,000 marks for the custody of his lands, till he came of age. At
this time, the flames of civil war began to breakout between the
king and his rebellious barons, headed by Simon de Montfort,
Earl of Leicester. The Earl of Derby joined their party, which
being completely defeated at the decisive battle of Evesham, he was
obliged to submit, and throw himself entirely on the king's mercy.
He received a free pardon, in consideration of a cup of gold,
adorned with precious stones, and i ,5oo marks to be paid to the
king within a twelvemonth; and on condition, that if he should
at any time transgress again, then without hope of pai'don to be
wholly disinherited ; for the strict performance of which agree-
ment, he bound himself not only by a special deed but
by his corporal oath before the king. Notwithstanding this
solemn engagement, he i-efused to pay the line, and raised a
powerful army in Derbyshire ; but Henry, son of Richard, King
of the Romans, advancing against him, he was completely
routed at Chesterfield, after a sharp conflict, in which many of

All the honours of this unfortunate dnke, and his family, being thus lost,

they continued in that state till the reign of James the First ; who gave to

Sir Henry Grey, of Pirgo in Essex, nephew of the Duke of Suffolk, the

title of Baron Grey of Groby : and his grandson, Lord Grey, was by

Charles the First created Earl of Stamford ; from whom the present Earl

of Stamford is descended.

R 2

( l52 )

his followers were slain. The Earl of Derby having taken refuge
in a chui'ch, where he concealed himself under some sacks of
wool, was betrayed by a woman, and carried prisoner to London,

In the parliament held at Westminster the same year, he was
totally disinherited, and Edmund, the king's son, was invested
with the earldom of Dei'by ; and also obtained a grant of all
his goods and chattels, together with all his castles and lands to
hold during pleasure.

Earl Robert was confined in prison for about three years ; but
great mediation being made for him, he was released, and Prince
Edmund was directed to restore him his possessions, on condi-
tion of his receiving on a certain day, 5o,ooo/. at one entire pay-
ment. The sureties of Earl Robert for this agreement were,
Henry, son of R^ichard, King of the Romans, William Valence,
Earl of Pembroke, William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
Roger de Clifl'ord, and some other great barons ; to whom, by
way of counter-security, he gave all his castles and lands, except
Chartley in Staftbrdshire, andHolbroke, in Derbyshire. This sum
not being paid accordingly, those his sureties passed over their
title therein, to Prince Edmund and his heirs for ever, (i)

(i) It was in this manner, that the vast estates, now called the Duchy
of Lancaster, came to the crown. On the forfeiture of Robert de Fer-
rers, Earl of Derby, Edmund Plantagenet, second son of Henn' III. was
created Earl of Chester, Leicester, Dei-by, and Lancaster. He was suc-
ceeded by his son Thomas, who was beheaded at Pomfret in iSaa. His
brother Henry was restored to all his titles, and was succeeded by his son
Henry, who was created first Duke of Lancaster by Edward III. He died
of the plague, in i36i, leaving an only daughter called Blanche; who
married John of Gaunt, fourth son of King Edward, by whom he was
created Duke of Lancaster. Heurj' of Bollingbroke, his son, having de-
posed Richard the Second, succeeded to the crown by the name of Heniy
the Fourt hand ; from that lime^ all the great possessions of the house of
Lancaster have been centered in the crown.

( »53 )

Earl Robert was married, first, to Mary, daughter oi' Hugh
le Brun, Earl of Angouleme, and niece to King Henry the Third.
At the time of their marriage he was only nine, and she but
eight years of age. They had no issue. His second wife was
daughter of Lord Basset ; by whom he had a son who was called
Sir John de Fen-ers, ofChartley. His grandson's grandson had
an only daughter and heiress, who at the age of eleven years and
eight months, was married to Sir John Devereux ; who was
summoned to parliament 2 Edward 4, 1460, as Lord Fen-ers of
Chartley. He was slain with King Richard at Bosworlh Field.

John, Lord Ferrers, his son, married the sister and final hei-
ress of Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex ; and their grandson
Walter, was, by Edward the Sixth, created first Viscount He-
reford.

His grandson, Walter Devereux, was made Earl of Essex,
and died in Ireland, 18 Elizabeth, iSyG.

Robert, Earl of Essex, his son and heir, was the great favou-
rite of Queen Elizabeth ; but his history is too well known, to be
repeated here. In the last year of the queen's reign, he was
found guilty of high treason, and beheaded in the Tower.

His son Robert, Earl of Essex, commanded the parliamentary
forces against Charles the First, and died without issue in 1646.
By his death, the earldom of Essex became extinct, but the title
of Viscount Hereford descended to Sir Walter Devereux,
grandson of Walter, first viscount ; and from him the present
Lord Hereford is descended.

Lady Dorothy Devereux, one of the two sisters ofR.obert, last
Earl of Essex, had allotted to her, among others of his estates,
the old castle of Chartley, and the manor-house built by the first
Viscount Hereford. She married Sir Henry Shirley, whose great
grandson Sir Robert, was summoned to parliameutin 1678, as Lord
Ferrers ofChartley, and took hisseat, according to the a?icient writ

( '34)

of summons in 1 298 . He was afterwards created Viscount Tam-
worth, and Earl Ferrers.

His eldest son, Robert Shirley, married Anne, daughter and
heiress of Sir Humphrey Ferrers, of Tamworth ; who was des-
cended from Thomas Ferrers, second son of William, fifth Lord
Ferrers, of Groby. By this marriage, the estates of the two
branches of Ferrers, Chartley, and Groby, were again re-
imited, after a lapse of more than four centuries.

Such was the fate of the first possessors of Tixall after the
Conquest ! Such was the various and chequered fortune of their
posterity !

( i55)

(D)

The first upon record of this name is Sir Philip de Gasieneys,
who married Amphelis, daughter and coheiress of Robert, son of
Hardulph, by Diva, daughter and heir of Robert, son of Wal-
ter do !Morley. In the curiouss record, called the " Black Book
of the Exchequer," containing a list of knights fees, on which an
aid was levied for the mai-riage of Matilda, daughter of Henry II.
in 1 166 ; William de Wasteneys is stated to hold two knights fees,
and Galfridus, or Jeffrey, one and a half knights fees, in the
barony of Stafford. This William was sou of Sir Philip,
and it is probable that Jeflrey was his younger brother, and that
the elder held lauds in Colton, and the younger in Tixall.

Sir Hardolph Wastneys, Knight, descendant of this Sir Wil-
liam, resided at Headon in Notts, and was made a baronet 20
Jac. I. His great grandson Sir Hardolph, fourth baronet, died
about the year 1760, and was the last of the name.

Rose de Wasteneys, who sold Tixall to Sir Thomas Littleton,
was descended from Paganus de Wasteneys, son of Jeflrey, and
probably grandson of Sir Philip above-mentioned.

( i56 )

(E)

The record of this transaction is given by Dugdale, in his woik
entitled " Origines Juridiciales," in the thirty-third chapter,
where treating of "Fines, how antient, in what manner, before
Avhom, and where levied { he says, (towards the conclusion of the
chapter,) "^ And because iheargeements thus made have ever been
held inv iolable , I shall in the last place exhibit an antient testimonial ,
to manifest how exact a course hath long ago been taken, not
only by the judges, before whom they were levied^ in a strict
questioning of the cognizors, bul the care which the cognizors
themselves on their own parts had, by a serious deliberating what
ihey did in these great and solemn conclusions."

This document is in itself so curious, and so closely connected
with my subject, that I think it will not be unpleasing to the reader
to see it here at length :

"To all christen men, to whom this present wryting shall come,
Rose, that was the wyfTof Sir John Merston Knight sendeth gre-
ting in God everlasting : Know ye me the said Rose to sey and
afiii-me, that Thomas Littleton, oon of the King's Justices of the
Common place, bargayned, bought, and purchased for a cer-
taine summe of money^ which he halli truly payd, the reversion
of the Maner ofTixhale, in Staflordshii-e, and in certeine tene-
ments and Rentes in other Towns in the same Shire, of the said
John Marston, sumtyme my husband, and of me, to have after
the decece of my said husband and me : by force of which a
F_yTie was rered at Westminster ; by which Fyne a state was made
of the said Maner to my husband and to me, terme of our lives ;
the remaynder thereof unto the said Thomas Littleton and Jane
his Wife, and to the heires of the said Thomas Littleton for ever-

(^37)
more, as in the sayd Fine more pleluly appeareth. Afore which
Fyne rered, I did aske of Sir John Prisot the Chefe Justice of
the Common place, and divers others, to whom I had special
confidence and trust; and also of divers other apprentices lerned
in the La we, of mjCouncell ; whederthat my seid husband and I,
might sille the reversion of the said Maner without perell of our
soules : and they desired me to confourme and shew them how
the seid Maner afore that tyme was entayled : and I shewed them
ihe part of an hole Fyne, whereof the tenor seweth iu these
words.

Haec est finalis concordia facta in Curia domini Regis apud
Westmonasterium, a die S. Trinitatis in xv. dies, anno regni
Regis Edwardi, filii Regis Edwardi, decimo nono, coram Wil-
lielmo de Bereford, Johanne de Mutford, Willielmo de Herte,
Johanne de Stonore, et Johanne de Busse, Justiciariis, et
aliis domini Regis fidelibus, tunc ibi prfesentibus ; inter Galfri-
dum de Wastneys de Tyxhale qu£erentem, et Rogerum de
Aston personam Erclesi,TR de Weston, deforcientem, de Manerio
de Tyxhale, cum pertinentiis, etadvocationeEcclesiaeejusdeniMa-
nerii, unde Placitum conventionis summohitum fuit inter eos in
eadem curia ; scil. quod praedictus Galfridus recognovit proedicta
maneria, cum pertinentiis, et advocationem praedictam esse jus
ipsius Rogeri ; ut ilia quae idem Rogerus habet de dono prsedicti
Galfridi ; Et pro hac recognitione fine et concordia idem Rogerus
concessit prsedicto Galfrido prsedictmn manerium cum pertinen-
tiis et advocationem praedictam, et ilia ei reddidit in eadem
curia, Habenda et tenenda eidem Galfrido de Capitalibus domi-
nis feodi illius per servicia quae ad praedictum manerium et advo-
cationem pertinent, tota vita ipsius Galfridi : Et post deccssum
ipsius Galfridi, (etc.) remanere Maculiuo filio ejusdem Galfridi,
et Margaretae uxori ejus, et haeredibus de corporibus ipsorum
Maculini et Margaretae exeuntibus j teneudaj (etc.) remanere Jo-

S

( i58 )
hannifratri ejusdem Macullni et heeredibus de corpore suo pro-
creatis ; tenenda, (etc.) remanei'e Henrico fratri ejusdem Johan-
nis et hseredibiis de corpore suo procreatis, (etc.) remanere Wil-
lielmo fratri ejusdem Henrici, et hgeredibus de corpore, (etc.)
remanere rectis heeredibus ipsius Galfridi ; tenenda (etc.) imper-
petuum.

And they asked me of whom and how that I came of any such
persons named in the seyd Fine : and I seyd ; that I came of
Blakelyn Wastneys and Margaret his wiff named in the seyd
Fine ; that is to say, that I am Daughter to Roger, sonne to Wil-
liam, son to the seyd Maculine and Mai'garet. They examined
me, whether any of the Brethren of the said Maculine j that is
to sey, John, Henry, or William had any issue on lyve : and I
seyd to them, Nay, but all ben ded without issu, which is very
trouth. They asked me wheder I was heire to GeflVey Wasteneys
named in the seyd Fyne ; and I seyd I am heire to the seyd Gef-
frey ; for he was my Graunsire's Graunsire. They asked me
whether there was eny more issue now on lyve, that come of the
said Mauculine and Margaret: and I said Nay: for I seyd, if
Alianoure Harecourt, which was myn Aunte, that is to say my
Faudrs Suster, had bin on lyve ; and overleved me, she shuld en-
herite the scid livelode by force of the seid taill made to Makelyn
and Margaret after me : but now she is ded without issue, there is
no more issue now on lyve tliat come of the seid Makelyn and
Margai'ct sauf only I, in as much as I was the last of the entaill,
and the fee-simple thereof was in me : whereupon my husband
and I rered a Fyne in the fourme as I have seyd. And whereas Sir
John Gresseley Knight seyth, as I am enfourmed, that he shuld
be my next kyn to enherite after me the said livelode ; betwene
God and me I sey, as I shall answer afore the day of Dome,
1 canne not, nor never cowde wete or knowe, nor never herde
by my fader, nor other in noe maner wyse, how or in what wyse

C iSg )
he shulde be kyn to me, to enherite in eny wyse the said live-
lode ; save that it was seid, that he came of oon Sir Thomas Wast-
nesse, which Wastnesse was longe tyme afore the seyd old Fyne
arered : but how, or what wyse I was kyn to that Wastnesse I
cowd never here tell. And ferthermore I sey and affimie that
there is none on lyve, that I know or can here of, that is or may be
enheritable by eny maner of fee tayle specified or comprised in the
seid old Fyne reryd in the time of the seid King Edward the se-
cond : In witness whereof to this present writinge I have put my
seall.

( >4o)

(F)

The first person of note, of the ancient and illustrious family ot
Littleton, was John de Littleton, in the Vale of Evesham, in the
reign of Henry the Second. His son bore as a device, three scal-
lop shells, (which are a part of the family arms to this day) either
from having been a soldier in the crusades, or from having made
a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. From him descended Thomas de
Littleton, who 24 Hen. 5, married Emma, daughter of Sir Si-
mon de Franliley, Knt. and sole heiress of the manor of Frank-
ley, which has continued in the possession of the elder branch of
the Littletons, ever since. By her he had no male issue. He mar-
ried secondly, Asselina, daughter and heiress of William Fitz-
Warin, of Upton in Worcestershire, who was one of the justices
itinerant, and judge of the common pleas, 12 Hen. 3. By her
he had a sou, from whom was descended Thomas de Littleton,
squire of the body to Henry IV. and V., who had annual pen-
sions granted him by both those kings, " pro bono et gratuito
servitio," as expressed in the grants. He spelt his name Luttel-
ton, and sealed with the chevron between three scallops, as
now used by his posterity, but bore a different crest j viz : a grey-
hound's head collared. About the close of Henry the Fifth's
reign, he was sheriff of Worcestershii'e, imder Beauchamp, Earl
of Warwick, hereditary high sheriff of that county. He mar-
ried Maud, daughter and heiress of Richard Quatremains, (1)

(i) The Quatremains are called by Camden^ a family of great name ;
ind byLeland, a famous house, and of right fair possessions.

.lUBGK LITTLETON' .

i > / /

( i4i )

ijv whom he had ati only daughter, who married Thomas Wesl-
cote, of Devonshire, a gentleman of ancient family, and a cour-
tier in the service of King Henry the Sixth.

This high-born lady, being of a noble spirit, and having large
possessions by inhei'itance from her ancestors the Littletons, and
from her mother, the daughter and heiress of Quatremains, re-
solved to perpetuate the honour of her name ; and therefore
provided, by Westcote's assent before mai-riage, that her issue
should bear the name of De Littleton.

Prince, in his " Worthies of Devonshire, " informs us, that
this Thomas Westcote, was born at Westcote near Barnstaple,
and flourished in the reigns of Henry the Fourth and Fifth ; that
he was of a martial disposition, and addicted to feats of arms, by
which he endeared himself to those two puissant princes^ which,
(says this author), is no mean argument of his worth.

His eldest son, Thomas Westcote, alias Litdeton, was the fa-
mous lawyer, and was born about the beginning of the i5th cen-
tury at Frankley in Worcestershire. Having laid a proper
foundation of learning at one of the universities, he removed to
the Inner Temple ; and applying himself to the law, became very
eminent in that profession ; and first distinguished himself by his
learned lectures on the Statute of Westminster, " De donis con-
ditionalibus."

In i447» he was sheriff of his native county ; and in 1464, was
called to the degree of Serjeant at law. Henry the Sixth ap-
pointed him Steward or judge of the court of the palace, or mar-
shalsea of the king's household ; and in i^55, king's Serjeant, in
which capacity he went the northern circuit as judge of assize.
Upon the transferring of the crown from the house of Lancaster,
to that of York, he sued for a pardon from Edward the Fourth,
which that prince granted him in the second year of his reign.
His only crime, probably, was his having espoused the cause of

( i42)
Henry, his lawful sovereign, against Edward, then Duke of York.
Whatever it was, the new king soon gave him sensible proofs of
his favour and good will ; in the fourth year of his reign he made
him one of the judges of the court of common pleas, and granted
him out of the customs of London, Bristol, and Hull, i lo marks,
annually 3 " ultra consuelum foedum, ut statum suum decentius
tenere, et expensas sustinere valcat ;" as the words of the writ are.
The same year, the king gave io6sh. ii^d. to furnish him with
a furred robe, and 6s. 6d. more for a summer robe called Linura.
In 1473, Judge Litdeton resided near St. Sepulchre's church,
London, in a capital mansion, the property of the Abbot of
Leicester, which he held on lease at the yearly rent of 16s. In
iAtS, he was created Knight of the Bath, to grace the solemnity
of conferring that order on the Prince of Wales, afterwards
Edward the Fifth ■ on which occasion, several persons of the first
distinction, and in the highest favour at court, were advanced lo
that honour.

He continued to enjoy the favour and esteem of his sovereign,
and the highest reputation for his profound knowledge, and great
skill in the laws of England, during the remainder of his life.
He made his last will August 22, 1481, and died, the next day,
at his seat at Frankley, in a good old age ; and was interred in
the cathedral of Worcester, under a marble tomb which he had
erected himself, with his statue upon it, and decorated with ai-ms
and quarterings, of which it was despoiled in the civil wars. His
will which is curious, is given at length in Colllns's Peerage.

Judge Littleton wrote his famous *' Treatise on Tenures,''
probably not long before his death ; a work, says Camden, to
■which the students of the common law are no less beholden, than
the civilians to Justinian's Institutes.

He married Joan, daughter and coheir of William Burley, of
Bromscroft-castle, Shropshire, widow of Sir Philip Chclwynd, of

( ^3 )
Ingestrieia Staffordshire, with whomhe hadJarge possessions. She
brought him three sons and two daughters. Richard, his second
son, who became eminent in the pi'ofession of the law, and for
whose use his learned work was drawn up, was lineal ancestor to
the late Sir Edward Littleton, Bart, of Teddesley, in Stafford-
shire, member of parliament for that county. His third son Tho-
mas, was knighted by Henry VII. for taking Lambert Simnel,
the pretended Earl of Warwick. He lived at Spetchley, near
Worcester, an estate purchased by his father • and married
Anne, daughter and heir (or coheir) of John Botreaux, of Bo-
treaux-castle, in Cornwall. From him were descended the Lord
Keeper Litdeton, in the reign of Charles the First, Avhose cha-
racter is given by Clarendon, in his history, Sir Thomas Lit-
tleton, speaker of the house of commons, in the reign of King
William, and many other families.

The widow of Sir Thomas Littleton, the judge, survived him
twenty-four years, and died in i5o5, at the age of eighty. She
left a great estate to her eldest son, Sir William Litdeton, who
was also knighted by Henry the Seventh, at the battle of Stoke,
for bringing him aid against the Earl of Lincoln. He married
twice: I. Ellen, daughter of William Walsh, of Wanlip,(i)by

(i) The family of Walsh, or AVelsh, in old deeds called Wallis or Wa-
leys, was of great aatiquity ia Leicestershire, and the name is to be found
among those recorded to have come into England with the Conqueror.
Wanlip is pleasantly situated on the river Sore, about three miles from
Leicester.

Sir Thomas Welsh built in iSgB, the church of Wanlip, which he de-
dicated to St. Nicholas ; and is there intombed with bis lady. In the
east windows of the chancel he is represented as an armed knight, bear-
ing his coat of arms, and his lady kneeling opposite to him, with this
inscriptioQ underneath : '• Orate pro aa Thomse Welsh militis, qui hoc
templum fieri fecit i3g3 et pro ad Catherin usoris ejus."

( i44)

Mary, daughter aud coheir of Richard Byron, of Clayton • by
>vhom he had one daughter, Joan, married to Sir John Astoriy
of Haywood. His second wife Avas daughter of WiUiam Whit-
lington, of Pantley, in Gloucestershire, by whom he had one son,
from whom the present Lord Littleton is lineally descended, (i)

Sir William Littleton, was the first of his family who bore his
arms with a supporter. It is uncertain upon what occasion this
honourable addition was given to him. In a window of the ab-
bey church of Great Malvern, there remains, to this day, a finely
painted portrait of him, arrayed in ai-mour, with an heraldic
shield, and his name inscribed under it.

HediedatFrankleyin 1607, aged 65 ; and directed by his will,
that his body should be buried within the monastery of Hales
Owen, before the image of the Virgin Mary, and near the grave
of his first wife Ellen.

(i) Of this branch of the Littletons, was that distinguished nobleman,
George, first Lord Ljttelton, of Frankley ; who by his tasteful improve-
ments, formed his seat at Hagley, into a most delightful aud quite a clas-
sical spot. He was the confidential adviser and counsellor of the late Prince
of Wales, his present majesty's father ; and was celebrated through the
whole of his life, for his eminent virtues and talents, for his elegant
vyritings both in prose and verse, and for his love and patronage of litera-
ture, and learned men. He was ibe friend of Mallet, Thomson, and Pope ;
aud will always be regarded as an illustrious ornament of his rank and coun-
tiT. — (See Johnson's Lives of the Poets, vol. 40

His son whose spritely " Letters" have been published, was unforlu-
tmialely, no less conspicuous for very opposite qualities, aud for the extra-^
crdinarv circumstances which attended his death.

PEDIGREE of JOYCE de FREVILE, wife of Sir ROGER ASTON, Knt.

FREVILE

Baldwin Frevillc=Lucia, d. and b.
4a Hen. 2. I ol'R. tie Scalers

HUGH CAPET.

King ot France.

I
Robert,
ob. ioi3

I

Henry I.

ob 1060

1

M A R M I O N I

Hugh, 3d son=Beatrice, d. and h. to
Robert Marmion, £. ot Vermaudois | Heriberl, 411" Earl of
Lord oCFontenay jure uxoris | Vermandois

in Worm'' temp
W. Conq.

Robt. M,
Hen. I.

MONTFORT

Alice, d. and h. of Hugh^rGilbcrt de Ghent,
de Monifort | E. of Lincoln

temp.

Bob. M. ob. a
Henry III.

Rob. M. ob. 25
Henry III.

Joan, d. and h. to Hugh Kilpeck=Phil.M. ob. 2oEd=Maria, 2d wife
I ward I. I

Elizabeth=Rob. de Bellomont

I E. of Melleni and Leicester
Adeline=^Hugh, called from his mother, De Montfort

I
Thurslan, Baron de Montfort, built Beldesert-castle

Joan Mazera=;Ralph, Ld. Cromwell

Joan

Baldwin
o. s. p.

I I

Alexander, Baron Frevile:=Joanj d. and h. to Lord Cromwell
ol). 9 Edvv. Ill I and Maz. Marmion

i ~

BaUlwin de l'revile=Maud, d. to John, Lord Strange

of Taniworth-castlc, of Blackmcre

ob. 17 Edvv. Ill

Henry, Baron Montfort, 2 Rich. I.

I
Thurstan, ob. 18 John

Peter de Monlfort^Alice, d. to Henry dc Audley

Peter, iSEdw. I. William Robert

I
John, ob. 24 Edw. I.^AIice, d. ofWm. deia Plauche

Sir Baldwin Frcvile=;Klizabelh Montfort

Maud:=Bariholome\v, Lord Sudley

John o. s. p. 42 Edw. III.

Sir Baldwin Frovilc^.Ioyre, d. and h. of
uh. II Rich. II I Sir Julm Bolclourl, Knt.

Sli Baldwin do l"reviIp"T-Jiian, d. of Sir Tlio.s. Giceue, Knt.

Peter

Guy, ob. coelebs,
vit^ patria 9 Ric. II.

1. Eiizabeih^;!

Baldwin 1. Eiizabeih=:Thos. Ferrers, ad son of William, 2. JOYCE FREVILE=SIR ROGER ASTON, Km. 3. Margaret=i. Sir Hugh Willoughby, Km.

ob. coelebs 5lbLd. Fcrrarsof Groby ■ a. Sir Richard Bingliam, Knt.

(A)— FREVILE, p. 1 44.

•

f

PEDIGREE of Lady MARY HOWARD, wife of WALTER, fourth Lord ASTON.

HOWARD.

Aubnr Brus, Earl of Passy iu Normandy

Valerin, Lord of Vernon in Normandy, 3d son

I temp. Wm. Conq.

Kogcr Fitz-valerine

AVilliam de Ho ward=Maud , widow of
of llawardcu, co. Flint. | Rog. Bigod, E. of Norwich

Sir John Howard, liiil.

Sir Robert Howard, 2d son

.SliJnlin llow.ird

Sir Jolin=Calli'. d. and coli. of Sir John dc Brus

Sir /Icnry Howard

SirWm., Ch. Justice i)f=A]ice. d. and h. of Sir'
y'Com. Pleas,25E. I. | Edw. Eitton, knt.
JolinJI. ob. 5 Edw. 3=John Cornwall

Sir John Howard =:Alicc d. and b. of Sir

AdinLofy'llect, 10E.2. ] Robt. Boys, knt.
Sir liohert Howard =Margareljd. to Robt.

(ih K'.Ric. 2,vil. pair. | Lord Scales.
M.ir(;l.d. andb. of Sir =SirJohn Iioward=Alice, d. and h. to Sir

.1. 1'lailz, lint, istwife I ob, li'/fj. \ Wm. Tendring, 2d wife
I

EARLS OF ARUNDEL.

William dc Albini temp. W. Conq.:=Maud, daughter of Roger Bigod

K. EDWARD I.—O. MARGARET, d. to Phil. le Hardi

Kin^ of France— Second wife

Thomas de Brotbenon, Earl of Norfolk, 5tb son
of Edw. i , eldest son of Queen Margaret

I
Julin Lord Segrave==Margaret 1 d. and cob.

John Lord Mowbr.iy=Eliz. d. and cob.

I

Thomas Mowbray=Eliz. d. and cob. of Richard
I is Duke of Norfolk | Fitz-AUan, E. of Arundell

William created E. of Arundell=:Queen Adeliza, ^Yidow of lleury I.
Ld.ofAruudell-cas. ob. 1 176 |

I
William, E. of Arundell, obit 1222 = Maud dc SanctoSidouio

\

I \ \ i i i

William Hugh 1. Mabel 2. IsabelT=Jobn Fitz-allan 3. Nicola 4. Cecily
o. s. p. o.s.p. Robt. deTatshall bad ob. 24 Hon. 3 Roger Mon- R. dc

Arundell-castle talt Somcry

John Filz- allan, F.arl of Ariindell^Maud, d. of Rocsc de Vernon
ob. 52 Hen. 3 |

John F. Earl of Ar. ob. 54 Hen. 3=:Isabel dc Mortimer

Richard Fitz-alan, Earl of Ar.=Alison, d. of Marquis de Saluces iultaly

Edm.'', E. ofAr. executed i52G^Alice, sist. and h. to John E. Warren and Surrey
Richard, Earl of Ar. ob. i57,5=Elcanor, d. of Henry Earl of Lancaster

Sir.lohn IL ob. t45g Sir Robt. Howard=JIargaret, grand-d. and cob. of J. Mowbray,Duke of Norfolk

111/, daugliter and heir Sir John Howard=Elcanor, d. of VVm. Ld. Molins, and of Eleanor, d. of H. Ld. Beaumont Richard E of A. beheaded i - Rich. 2 John Fitz-alan

(1 to John Verc, Baron Howard, 10

L. uf 0.xford Edw. 4, 1 470, E. M.

I), of Norfolk, i483;slain

on Bosworth Field, i48.^

lili?,. d. and h. of Sir Fred. Tiluey, kiU.=Tliomas 2d Dukc=Agnes, sister and heir to Sir Ph Tilnov knt

ob. i5e4 I ." •

.1
Thomas E. of A. ob. s. p. i4i5, John, his son

John E. of Arundell, William E. of ArundcIlz^Joan, d. of Richard Neville, E.
ob. 12 Hen. 6 ob.5.Heu. 7. | of Salisbury

[Thomas, third duke— Eliz. d. to Edward Lord Edward, K. G. Lady Elizabeth— Thos. Lord Lord William, ances- Humphrey ob. s. p.
ob. i55i, agedBo I Slall'ord D. of Buck"- Adml. of England | V Rocbf- tor to Howard, E. of

I Frances, d. of j | I Eflinsham, anUHow-

I HiMi. Earl of SurroyiJohu Vnrc, E. oHQuccn C.-iiherinC:=K. IXon.8.=Q. Anne Boleyn ard of Corby

belicadcai547 ( 0.\ford J ( ■' .' >

I O.Fllzabctb

Thomas E. of Arundell, ob. i524
William Earl of Arundell, ob. i543

Henry E. of Arundell, ob. 22 Eliz.=:Calherine,d. of Thos. Grey, Marquis Dorset

Margaret, d. and h. to Thos. Lord Audley— 2d wife=Thomas 4th duke=Mary, d. and coh. to Henry E. of Arundell,
I beheaded 1 672 | and Baron Maltravers

Joan:=Jobn Lord Lumie

Thomas Earl William, ancestor to the Philip E. of Arundell=:Anne, sister and coh. to Geo. Lord Dacres
ofSullblk Earl of Carlisle ob. iSgS I

Henry Frederic-=Elizabeth, d. of Esme Stuarl,
E. ol .\rundell I Duke of Kichmoud

Charles
o. s. p.

Thomas
o. s. p.

Mary
>. s. p.

Thomas Earl of Ar. and NorfoIk=Alelhca, 3d d. and coh. and ailength sole heir to Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury
ob. 1G46 I

William Viscount Staflbrd:=Mary, sister and heir of Henry Lord Staflbrd
beheaded 16S0

mas, 5lh duke,
. coelcbs, 1G77

)Icurv,(nh iluke^zzAnne, d. of 1

oL. iG84 I E. Somerset, (

I Mqs.ofWorc. i

Philip, a cardinal

Charles of Greystock, ob. 1713
Charles

Bernard
Bernard

•

Jauohterand heir Sir John Howard^zEleanor, d. ol'Wm. Ld. Illolins, and ofEleanor, d. ofH. Ld. Beaumont Richard E of A. beheaded 17 Rich. 2 John Fitz-alan

Thomas E. of A- ob. s- p. i4i5, John, his sou

D. of Norfolk,! 483; skii

on Bosworth Field, 1 485 ] |

.|,, d. and b. of Sir Fred. Tiluej, knt.=TlioiTias 2d Duke=Agnes, sister and heir 10 Sir Ph. Tilncv, knt. John E. of Arundell, William E. of ArundclI=:Joan, d. of Richard Neville, E.

I ob. i524 I ' ^ ob.iaHeu. 6 ob.S.Hen. 7. | of Salisbury

,1 lied "to John Vere, Baron Howard, 10
got'O-xford _ Edw.4,i470,E.M.

m

Jhomas, third dulve=Eliz. d. to Edward Lord Edward, K. G. Lady Elizabeth— Thos. Lord Lord William, ances- Humphrey ob. s. p.
*ob. 1 554, aged 80 | Stalford D. of Buck"- Adml. of England | V Rochf- tor to Howard, E. of

I Frances, d. of j 1 ) EiKngham, andHow-
I Hen. Earl of Surrey=Johu Vfire, E. oHQucen Catherine— K. Hen.S.^Q. Anne Boie/n ard of Corby !

beheaded i547 j -" "^ Q.F.IizLbeih Henry E. of Arunaell, ob. 22 Eliz.— Catherine, d. of Thos. Grey, Marquis Dorset

Thomas E. of Arundell, ob. i5i!4
"William Earl of Arundell, ob. i543

Margaret, d. and h. to Thos. Lord Audley— 2d wife=Thoma5 4th duke^^Mary, d. and coh. to Henry E. of Arundell,

I beheaded 1672 I and Baron Maltravers

Joan=rJohn Lord Lumley

Thomas Earl 'William, ancestor to the Philip E. of Arundell=.^nne, sister and coh. to Geo. Lord Dacres
ofSulfolk Earl of Carlisle ob. iSgS |

Charles
o. s. p.

Thomas
o. s. p.

Mary
o. s. p.

Henry Frederic^=Eli/,abeth, d. of Esme Stuart,
E. of Arundell Duke of Richmond

Thomas Earl of Ar. and Norfolk=Alethca, 3d d. and coh. and at length sole heir to Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury

ob. 1G46 I

I

William Viscount Staft'ord=;Mary, sister and heir of Henry Lord Staftbrd
beheaded 1680

Itiomas, 5ili duKc,
\ ib. coclebs, 1677

llcury, Gill duke^rAnne, d. of

ob. i684 I E. Somerset

I Mqs. ofWorc

I

.1

Philip, a cardinal

1
Charles ot Greystock, ob. 1715

Charles

I

Hrnry, 7th duke,
o)j. s. p. 1710

Lord Thomasr=Elizabelli, d. and h. to Sir
shipwr.''iC8g I John Saville, bart.

Elizabeth
Alex. Duke of Gordon

Charles loth duke=;Catherine Brockholes
Charles nth duke, ob. i8iG,s. p.

Bernard

1
Bernard

Charles

Heury=;Juliana, d. to Sir Wm. Molyneux, ban.

l,onins8tliduke=;;Mary, d. andh. of Sir Nich. Edward gth duke^Mary, 2d d. and coh. of Edw. | Bernard i2th=:Elizabeth, daughter to Henry Henry Howard Molyneux Edward

ob. 1738,5. p. Sherburne, bart. ob. 1754 ob. 1777,5. p. Blount of Blagdon, esq. | and present duke | Earl of Fauconberg

Winifred =; Philip Howard=Henrietta, 5d d. and coh. to Bernard=:Lady Char. Gower, d. to

d. ofThos. Stonor, CO. I- ob. 1760 | Edw. Blount, esq.— ad wife E. of Surrey | the Marquis of Statford

0.\un. esq. I I I ^

I Lord Maltravers

Thoma.s bom
17.18, ob. Jan.
n('i5, \unar-
licd

Wiuifred=William Lord Slourton

■William Lord=:-Mary, 2d d. and coh to
.Slourton | Marm. Lord Langdalc

J'

William, prcsonl=Catherine, d. of
LordSlourton | Thos. Weld, esq.
Many children

Aune^Robt. Edward Lord Petre

I

Edward, Born i744> o''- '765, unmarried

Robert Lord Petrc=Mary Howard, sister to Bernard, now Duke of Norfolk

Robert Lord Petre^Frances, d. to Sir Richard Bcdiucfeld, bart.

I ^

Frances

LADY MARY H0V\^ARD=V7 ALTER, FOURTH LORD ASTON.

(B)— HOWARD, p. 1 44.

•

Pedigree of Lady Barbara Talbot,

WIFE OF

JAMES, FIFTH LORD ASTON.

Richard Talebot, temp. Wm. Conq.

Hugh de Talebot, ad son. ti^mp. Hen. I. died a monk at Beaubec in Normandy

Richard Talebot, temp. Hen. H. Lurd of Linton, co. Hereford

I
Richard Talebot, temp. Hen. 3.=:Aliva, d. of Alan Basset

Gilbert Talebol, ob. 2 Edvv, I. =Guenihlianj d. and afterwards h. to Rhese ap Griirith, Prince of Wales. Her dcs-
I ccndaiils adopted his arms— G(//f.f, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed, or.
I Their former arms were, Brndy 0/ 10, argent and gules .

Richard Talebot, ob. 54 Edw. I.^Sarah, d. of Wm. Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick

Gilbcrl, summoned to Parliament, from 4 to 18 Edw. 3, ob. 20 Edw. 5, Baron Talebot

Richard Talebot, of Goodrich-castle, ob. 3o Edw.=ElIz. sist. and coh. of John Cuniyn, Earl of Buclian in Scotland
(islwife) Pctroncl, d. to James Bolder, Earl of Ormond=Gilbert Talebot, ob. 10 Ric. 2=Joau d. of Ralph, Earl of Stafford, (2d wife) ob. s. p

Wm. Lord Furnival

ird Talbot, ob. 20 Richard 2. Lord Talbot=Ankaret, sist. and hcirof John, Lord Strange of Blachnere
I

Sir Thos. Nevil, knt.^Joan, d. and heir

Jonn, d. ofTlios. Onke of (;ioiKesler=Sir Gilbert Talbot, knt.=Beatrice, nal. d. of

youi.m-sis.iu ofKinsEdw. 3, ob. 7 Hen. 5 | John, King of Porlueal—

and coh. of her brother Hum- Ankaret, 2d wife

phrey, Duke of Buckingham. o. s. p. 9 Hen. 5.

jN'o issue.

INLirgaret d.=i . Sir Jcdin Talbot, knt.=Maud, lirstd. and coh.
of Rich. Beau- | istEarliif Shrewsbury |
champ, E. of I ob. 3iHcn. 6

Warwick, 2d I I

wife I I

John Talbot, Vis'' 2 John, Earl of Shrewsbury =Eliz. d. of James, EarlofOrmond
Lisle, ob. 5i Hen. 6 killed at Northampton,

I 53 Hen. 6

Thos. Talbot, V. Lisle,
o. s. p. 10 Edw. 4

3. John, Earl of Shrewsbury— Catherine, d. of Humphrey SlaQord, Duke of Buckin'dia
ob. i5Eilvv.4 I °

4. George, Earl of Shrewsbury— Anne, d. of Anne Talbot
ob. 53 Hen. 8 | Wm. Ld. Hastings Th. Bolelcr, Ld. Sudlcy

1. I'raucis, E. of Shrcwsbury=!\Iary, d. of
, ''•'■ '"■ l-'"- I Thos. Lord Dacres

^^>. George Larl of Shrewsbury ^Gertrude, d. of

Sir Gilbert Talboi, of Gr,ifion=Ethelreda, d. of Sir John Cotton
kilt. l>ann' aFid K. fi. cj,. ,, If. S. |

Sir John Talbot, of Albrighton^Margarel, d. and h. of Adam Troutbeck,
ob. 4Edw.6 I CO. Chester, Esq.

Sir John T. of Grafton, knt=Franccs, d. of Sir John GifTard of Chil-
ob. 3 Phil, and .Mary | lington, co. Stall' knt.

John Talbot, Esq, of Grafton— Catherine, d. to Sir Wm. Petre, knt.

• Gllberi, Earl of Sl„vN,sbury=Mary, d. of Sir 8. Edward,
'"'■ ''"^ I W. Cavendish, kt. ob. 1617, s. p.

Mary

I
Elizabeth

9. George, Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot of Longford=Eleanor, d. and coh. ofSir Thos. Basker-
ob. unmarried, iG3o co. Salop, Esq. | ville, of Wolvershill, co. Wore. knt.

Mary, d. of SirFr. Foriescue, K.B.:=io. John, E. ofShrewbury=:Frances, d. to Thos. LordArundel of Wardour
I ob. i653 I

Aliihea

IVm.E. of Pembroke Hen. E. of Kent. Thos. E. of AruudeU

11. Francis, E. ofShrewsbury^Anna, Maria, d. to

ub. 1667 I Rob. E. of Cardigan

Thomas Talbot of Longford, Esq.

ho issw

Avilc

John Talbo., V,s- 3 J°^"; Ea.-l of Sh,e«sbury=Eliz. d. of James, Earl of O.mond
Lisle, ob. 31 Hen. 0 killed ai Northamplon,

I 58 Heu. 6 |

Thos. Talbot, V. Lisle, |

o. s. p. 10 Edw. 4 I

J, John, E-irl of Shrcwsbuiy=Calheiine, d. of Humphrey Slafl'ord, Duke of Buckingliam

ob. 1 5 Edw. 4 ^^j

:(. George, Earl of Shrewsbur7=:Annc, d. of Anne Talbot

ob. 55 Hen. 8 | Wm. Ld. Hastings Th. Boieler, Ld. Sudle/

'-). Francis, E. of Shrewsbury^Maiy, d. of
fib. 2 Eliz. I Thos. Lord Dacres

"). George Earl of Shrcwsbury^Gerirude, d. of

I Thos. Karl of Uulland

Sir Gilbert Talboi, of Grafio.i^^Ethelreda, d. of Sir John Cotton
lint, bann' and K. G. ob. ri H. 8. (

u ^Vi^i'" i''"""' "' A'l''is''^°"=^I'^'-Savcl, d. and h. of Adam Troutbeck,
ob. 4Edw. b I eo. Chester, Esq.

Sir John T. of Grafton, knt=:Frances, d. of Sir John Giflard of Chil
ob.5Phil. andMary | lington, co. Slafl'.knt.

John Talboi, Esq. of Grafton^Catheriuc, d. to Sir Wni. Potrc knt

I I

. Gilherl, Earl of Sliro\vsbury=!Mary, d. of , Sir 8. Edward,

ob. lOiG I VV. Cavendish, kt. ob, 1617,5. p.

, I
Elizabeth

g. George, Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot of Longford^^Eleanor, d. and cob. ofSir Tlios. Raskc

ob. unmarried, iG5o co. Salop, Esq. | ville, of VVolvcrshili co Wore knt

I
Mary, d. of SirFr. Foriescue, K.B.=io. John, E. olShrevvbury— Frances, d. to Thos. Lord Arundel of Wardour
I ob. 1655 I

I7m. E. of Pembroke Hen. E. of Kent. Thos. E. of Aiuudell

Francis, E. ofShrewsbury^Anna, Maria, d. to
ob. i6Gt I Hob. E. of Cardigan

Tlioraas Talbot of Longford, Esq.

12. Charles, Earl of Shrewsbury, Marqiis of Alton,
Duke of Shrewsbury, ob. 1718

i3. Gilbert, E. of Shrewsbury, Gcorgc^Mary, d. of Tlioinas, Vis-
in holy orders ; ob. ob. 1 755 | count Fitzwilliam

unmarried, 1743 I

George, E. of Sliicwshiiry Charles^^Mary, d. of Sir P. Moslyn

()l). 1787, s.p. ob. 1772 I ol Talacre, CO. Flint, Bart.

Uizabclh, d. of IMaria l!cdingfdd=JohnJ=Mary, d. ofWm. Clifton
I'm Ld. Doriiier/ od wife | | ol Lyiham, Esq. (1st wife)

I i j i j John r^Maria Talboi, d.ofWm.

Two sons and llirce daughters I Talbot, of Castle Talbot, Esq.

One daughter

James, V. A. Thomas, V. A

ob. coel. 1789 ob. coel. 170(5

Charles Lord Dormer, coelebs

Maiy=Cbarlcs Lord Dormer Francis=rFranccs, d. of R.
I Sheldon, Esq.

i5. Charles, present E. of Shrewsbury=Mary, d. of ■
eldest son of Chas. T. and Mary Mostyn No issue

Francis William
-Hoy, Fsq.

I I I I I

Charles 4 daughters

LADY BARBARA TALBOTrrJAMES, FIFTH LORD ASTON.

Sir Walter Blount, Bart.=rIVlary

I ob. i8o5

I

Barbara=Hon. Thos. Clifford, 4lh son of Hugh
2d dau. ob. 1786 I Lord Clifford, ob. 1787

i

Sir \V. B.r=Annc Iliddell Edward=:Frances Wright

j of Fclton Park |

CO. Northum-

land
SirLdw. Blount, Bart.

George

II. .MM

Eight children

E. Court' Chichester of Arlington,
CO. Devon

SirThos.C.Bt.=MaryM. Chichester Maryob. 18 Lucy ob. i8i5 Arthur Geoi-.

I of Arlington Charles, eldest sou T. Weld7Esq. Eiirpr.,,. Tw,4

of Sir Wm. Wolseley ofLulworth-c. ! j

I Rosamund T~ |~

Mary Isabella Thos. Aston

William Spencer

If

Mary Lucy

a sons and
1 daughter

Edward Henry James Ancie Barbara Walter Lewi:

ob. inf. ob. i8i3, s. p. Constantia d.

rricd ' -'

died uiiiiiarried

(C)— TALBOT, p. i44.

( i45 )

(G) The Genealogy of the Family of Aston-,
of Tixall.

I. Ralph de Aston, or Eston, flourished at HajAvood, in the
county of StaflFord, in the reign of Henry III. (i)

II. Roger de Aston, his son. In i4EdAv. i, Roger de Molend,
Bishop of Lichfield, made him constable of his castle at Eccles-
hall.(i) Ini7Edw. i, he granted to him and his heirs, lands in
Haywood and Bishton, and in igEdw. i, lands in Longdon,
and the mastership of the game in Cannock Chase. Roger de
Aston purchased divers lands in Haywood, Hixon, Longdon,
Brocton^ Handsacre, and King's Bromley. Died 20 Edw. 2.
Married Sybilla, daughter of James de la Laund. (2) Four sons :
X.John. 2. Robert. 3. Roger, i-ector of Weston. 4- Rich-
ard of Longdon. Two daughters : i . Sybilla married Richard
Wolseley, (2) and had lands in Bishton for her portion. 2. Joau
married Sir Robert Mavesyn, of Mavesyn Ridware, Knt. (2)

III. Sir John Aston, of Haywood, Knt. In 7 Edw. 5, knight
of the shire, (i) and 18 Edw. 5, high sheriiF of Staffordshire.
Ob. 33 Edw. 3. Married, first, Alice, daughter and coheir of
Hugo Meynell of Hints, Esq. who died without issue : secondly,
Emma, who died 16 Edw. 3. Two sous :

1. Roger.

2. Richard of Ashbrook, whose son, Adam Aston, married
Armitude, daughter and heir of Henry Davies of Horecross, near
Abbot's Bromley. Alice, sole daughter and heir of Rich. A. of
Horecross, their son, married in i4i7» John Welles of Little

(2) See Appendix V. (i) Appendix VI.

T

( i46)
Haywood and Lichfield, son of Thomas Welles and Ciclly Aston,
great grand-daughter of Rich. A. de Longdon above-named. (3)

IV. Sir Roger Aston. In 27 and sS Edw. 3, knight of the
shire for the county of Stafford. Two sons :

1 Thomas.

2. John, whose daughter and heiress Alice married Roger de
Stanford.

V. Sir Thomas Aston, of Haywood and Leigh, (i) knight
of the shire, in 5 and 16 Rich. 2, and 1 and 8 Hen. 45 ^igli
sheriff 10 Hen. 4- Married Elizabeth, sister and coheir of Re-
ginald de Leigh, (2) and Parkhall, (i) in the county of Stafford.
One son, Roger.

VI. Sir Roger Aston, sheriff of StaffordshirCj 5 and 10 Henry 6.
One of the prime gentry returned by the commisssioners for
that county, 12 Hen. 6. Ob. 26 Hen. 6. Married Joice, one
of the three daughters and coheirs of Sir Baldwin de Freville, (2)
Knt. : who, besides large estates, brought him Beldesert-castle,
CO. Warwick, which came to the Freviles by her great grand-
niother Elizabeth, sister and coheir of John, Baron de Mont-
fort, (2) who was descended from Hugh, the great Earl of Ver-
mandois, third son of Henry I. King of France. Sir Baldwin
de Freville, the husband of Elizabeth deMontfort. was grandson
of Alexander, Baron de Freville, who married Joanna, the des-
cendant, and one of the heirs of Sir Philip Marmion, Knt. (a)

Joyce de Freville, the wife of Sir Roger Aston, was grand-
daughter of Joyce, daughter and coheir of Thomas, Baron de Bote-
tourt. (2) Elizabeth, sisterof Joyce de Freville, married Thomas de
Ferrers, and broughthimihecastle of Tamworth, andlarge estates.
From them the late Marquis Townshend was descended. Margaret,

(2) Appendix V. (1) Appendix VI.

(3) Hail. MS. 1077.

( i47)
the third sister, married first, Sir Hugh Willoughby, Knt. ances-
tor of Lord Middelton j second. Sir Richard Bingham, Knt. :

One son, Robert.

One daughter, Joan, nian-ied Sir Roger Draycot, Knt. of the
Holy Sepulchre. (2)

VII. Sir Robert Aston, Knt. high sheriff of Staffordshire 3i
Hen. 6. Ob. 7 Ed\v. 4- Married Isabella, daughter of Sir
William Brereton of Cheshire, Knt. (2)

One son, John.
Two daughters :

1 . Isabella, married to Richard Bagot of Blithfield, co. Staf-
fford, Esq. (2) ancestor of the present Lord Bagot.

2. Petronilla, married to Richard Biddulph, Esq. of Biddulph
in Staffordshire, which is still the property of his descendant,
John Biddulph, Esq. of Burton in Sussex. (2)

VIII. John Aston, Esq. (i) sheriff of the counties of Stafford
and Warwick, 16 and 20 Edw. 4» (i442) one of the eighty-nine
Inights and esquires, retainers for life to William, Lord Has-
tings, (i) Married Elizabeth, daughter of John Delves, of Dod-
dington, CO. Chester, Esq. (1) Ob, x Ric. 3. Two sons :

1 . John .

2. Richard o. s. p. Ten daughters :

1. Isabella, marriedHumphrey Okeover of Okeover, Esq.

2. Margaret, married W. St. Andrew of Gotham, co. Notts,
Esq.

3. Elizabeth, married John Basset of Blore, Esq. (2)

4. Margaret, married, first Thomas Kinnersley of Loxley, Esq.
secondly, Ralph Wolseley of Wolseley, Baron of the Exchequer.

5 , married Dudley, Esq. of Sedgley.

(2) Appendix V. (i) Appendix VI.

T 2

C i48 )

6 , married Braddock, Esq. of Adbaston.

•7. Catherine, married Thomas Blount of Burton near Uttoxe-
ter, Esq. (2)

8. Alice, married John Dodd of Chorley, county Lancaster,
Esq.

9 , married Sir Andrew Colwich of Colwich, Knt. (2)

10. Rose, married Thomas Cludd of Ormesby, county Salop,
Esq.

IX. Sir John Aston, made a Knight of the Bath, at the mar-
riage of Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. Accompanied
Henry VIII. in his expedition into Brittany, and was at the sieges
of Tei'ouenne and Tournay. For his conduct and bravery at the
battle of Spurs, was made a knight banneret, by the king on the
field • sheriff of Staffordshire, 16 and 24 Hen. 7, and 5 Hen. 8,
and of Leicestershire, and Warwickshire, 2 Hen. 8. Ob. i5
Hen 8, i525. Married Joan, daughter of Sir William Little-
ton, Knt. son of the famous Chief Justice Littleton, (2) from whom
she inherited Tixall, and from her mother Helen, daughter and
coheir of R.obert Walsh, Esq. (2) and of Margery, daughter and
coheir of Sir Richard Byron, Knt. (2) Waulip, et alia in Leicester-
shire. Two sons :

1. Edward.

2. William married Elizabeth Stapleton, of Carlton, York-
shire (2) and had issue Francis, (1) who in 1664, married Mary,
daughter of Anthony Asdey, Esq. of Church-Eaton.

Two daughters :

1 . Anne, married Thomas Curzon of Croxall, Esq. from whom
the Duke of Dorset is descended. (2)

2. Helen mai-ried firsts Hugh Erdeswick of Sandon, Esq. (2)
who died without issue. Secondly, John jVIorgaUj Esq. Sir John

(2) Appendix V. (i) Appeudix \1.

( i49)
Aston and his lady were buried in Leigh church, under a costly
marble monument, still entire, (i)

X. Sir Edward Aston of Tixall, Knt. (i) sheriflF of Stafford-
shire, 20, 26, and 32 Hen. 8; and 5 and 4 Philip and Mary.
Built a mansion at Tixall i555. Ob. 10 Eliz. i568. Married
first, Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Vernon, Knt. who died with-
out issue i525, and was buried at Wanlip ; secondly^ Jane,
daughter of Sir Thomas Bolles, of Penho-castle, co. Monmouth,
Knt. baron of the exchequer, who died in i562. (2) Three sons :

1 . T Falter.

2. Leonard, mari-ied Elizabeth Barton of Chester, relict of

Creswell, Esq. and was settled at Longdon, co. Stafford. Had
sons, and a daughter Jane, married to Henry Skip with, Esq.

3. Antony, married Elizabeth Lawley of Spoon-hiU, co.
Salop, (2) and had issue two sons and two daughters. They re-
sided at Park-hall.

Three daughters :

1 . Catherine, married Sir "William Gresley, Knt. (2) from
whom the present baronet is descended.

2. Maiy, married Sir Simon Harcourt, Knt. ancestor of the
Earl of Harcourt. (2)

3. Frances, mari'ied Robert Needham of Shenton, Esq. an-
cestor of Viscount Kilmorey. (2)

Sir Edward Aston, and his lady, were buried under a stately
altar tomb of alabaster, in St. Mary's church, Stafford.

XL Sir Waller Aston, Knt. (i) was knight of the shire 6 Edw.
6. Was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his bi-avery at the siege
of Leith, near Edinburgh. Sheriff of Staffordshire 12 and 22 Eli-
zabeth. Built Tixall gatehouse. Ob. i58g. Manied Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir James Leveson, Knt. (2) Six sous :

t. Edward.

(2) Appendix V. (i) Appendix VL

( »5o)
52. Robert, who had Leigh andParkhall- he married Joyce,
daughter of'William Dalyson, Esq. justice of the king's bench,
and died in iGaS, having issue three sons and three daughters ^
his grand daughter Frances, an only child, carried the Leigh es-
tate to the Whitehalls.

3. Richard was rector of Leigh, and died 1602. Married Julian
Gierke, widow, by whom he had three sons and four daughters.

4. William of Milwich, ancestor of the present Lord Aston, (1)
married Elizabeth, daughter of Waldive Willington of Hurley.

5. Hastings, ob. coelebs, i586.

6. Devercux, married, first, Goditha, widow of Richard Skef-
fington, second, Margaret Betham, o. s. p.

Six daughters :

1. Jane (t) manned William Crompton of Stone. (2)

2. Margery married Thomas Astley, Esq.

3. Eleanor (1) married William Peyto of Chesterton, co.
Warwick, Esq. (-2)

4. Mary married Christopher Collier of Earl Hyde, (now
called Yarlet)Esq.

5. Elizabeth (1) married Basil Fielding, ancestor of the Earls
of Denbigh and Desmond. (2)

6. Catherine married first, Sir Stephen Slaney, lord mayor of
London, Knt. secondly, Sir William Chetwynd of Ingestrie, Knt.
thirdly, Sir Edward Cope of Canon Ashby, co. Northampton, Knt.

Xn. Sir Edward Aston, (i) Knt. was a ward of Queen Eliza-
beth, and was knighted by her on his coming of age. In 36
Eliz. was sheriff of Staffoi-dshire. Ob. iSgS, married first,
Mary, third daughter of Sir John Spencer, Knt. of Allhrop, co,
Northampton, by whom he had no issue. Second, Anne, only
daugliter of Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote, co. Warwick,
Knt. descended from Hugh Capet. (2) Three sons :

(2) Appendix V. (i) AppeudixVI.

( '5i )

T, Walter.

2. Edward of the jewel oflice, married Anae, only daughter
of Lee Sadler of Temple Dinesley, Herts, Esq. second son of
Sir Ralph Sadler.

3 Thomas of the lunerTemple, ob. coel. Four daughters :

1. Joyce, married Sir Martin Culpepper, co. Oxon, Kut.

2. Elizabeth, married Sandbach of Broadway, Worces-
tershire, Esq.

5. Anne, (i) mai'ried Ambrose Elton of Hasel, co. Here-
ford, Esq.

4. Janej married Thomas Elton, M. D. brother of Ambrose.

XIII. Sir Walter Aston, (i) made Knight of the Bath at the
coronation of James I. In 16 ri, created a baronet. In i6ig, sent
ambassador into Spain to negociate a marriage between Charles
Prince of Wales, and the Infanta. In 1627, (3 Car. 1.) created
a Scotch peei'j by the title of Baron Aston of Forfar in Scotland.
In 1635, again sent ambassador to Spain, and returned i658.
Buried in St. Mary's, Stafford. Married Gertrude Sadler of Stan-
don, CO. Herts, daughter of Sir Thomas, and grand daugh-
ter of Sir Ralph Sadler, knight banneret, who in 1660, by the
death of her brother Ralph, without issue, became a great hei-
ress. Five sons :

1. Walter ob. infans.

52. ?/^a//er, second Lord Aston.

3. Herbert, married Catherine, sister of Sir John Thimelby
oflrnham, co. Lincoln, Kut. (2)

4. Thomas ob. infans.

5. John.

Five daughters :

T. Gertrude ob. infans.

2. Honoria died at Vittoria in Spain.

(2) Appendix V. (i) Appendix VI.

( i52 )

3. Francesj married Sir William Persall of Canwell, co.
Stafford, Knt. (2)

4. Gertrude, married Henry Thimelby, brother of Sir John
Thimelby, and after her husband's death became a nun at Lou-
vain, in Flanders.

5. Constantia, married W. Fowler of St. Thomas' Priory, Esq.
XIV. Walter, second Lord Aston, (i) Took part with the

kingin the great rebellion, and defended Lichfield, besieged by
the rebels, for ig weeks. Ob. 1678, aged 6g. Buried at St.
Mary's, Stafford. Married Lady Mary Weston, second daughter
of Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, lord high treasurer. (2) Four
sons :

1. JFalter.

2. Thomas, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Ogle of
Dissington, co. Northumberland, Esq. (1)

5. Charles ob. inf.

4. William o. s. p.
Five daughters :

1. Elizabeth, married Sir John Southcote of Merstham, co.
Surrey, Knt. (2)

2. Frances, mari-ied Sir Edward Gage of Hengreave, Suffolk,
Bart. (2)

3. 4- Gertrude and Mary, died unmarried.

5. Anne, married Henry Somerset, son and heir of Sir John
Somei'set, second son of Henry, Marquis of Worcester. (2)

XV. Walter, third Lord Aston. (1) Born in i635. Sent to
the Tower in 1680, on account of Oates's plot, and not released
till i684- Same year made lord lieutenant of the county of Staf-
ford. Ob. ]7i4jaged8i. Married first, Eleanor, daughter of
Sir Walter Blount of Soddington, county Worcester, Bart. (2)
and widow of Robert Knightley of Offchurch, co. Warwick,

(2) Appendix V. (i) Appendix VI.

( 153 )

Esq. who died in 1674. Five sons :

1. Edward died at Clermont College, Paris, in 1678, aged 20.

2. Francis, o. s. p. 1694.

3. Walter, fourth Lord Aston.

4. Charles, born 1664, captain of the band of Greenwich pen-
sioners, killed at the Boyne in 1690 : unmarried.

5. William, ob. inf. Two daughters : Mary and Catherine
died unmarried.

XVI. Walter, fourth Lord Aston. Born about 1661. Ob.
1747. Married, first, Mary, only daughter of Lord Thomas
Howard, and sister to Thomas, and Edward, eighth and ninth
Dukes of Norfolk, (a) lineally descended from Edward I. King of
England. She died in childbed of her eleventh child, James,
in 1723. Five sons :

1. Walter.

2. Edward Richard.

3. Thomas William Antony.

4. Charles Joseph, all died before their father.

5. James, fifth Lord Aston. Six daughters :
1,2. Mary and Anne died infants.

3. Catherine Elizabeth.

4. Mary Anne died an infant.

5. Margaret, a nun at Paris.

6. Eleanor.

Married, secondly, Catherine, youngest daughter of Sir Tho-
mas Gage of Firle, Bart, by whom he had no issue.

XVII. James, fifth Lord Aston. Born 1723. Died 1751 of
the small-pox. Married Lady Barbara Talbot, eldest daughter of
George, 14th Earl of Shrewsbury, (a) Two daughters coheiresses :

1 . Mary married Sir Walter Blount, of Soddington, co. Wor-
cester, Bart, died 1805.

o. Barbara, married Hon. Thomas Clifford, (fourth son of
Hugh, Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, ) and died in the year 1786.

(i) Appendix V. U

( i54 )

(H) The Genealogy of the Family of Clifford,
of Tixall.

I. Fonts, son of William, Earl of Eu, (son of Richard I. Duke
of Normandy, grandson of RoUo) came over with the Con-
queror, Four sons :

1 . Richard.

2. Osbern, Lord of Longeney in Gloucestershire.

3. Drogo or Dru, Lord of Frampton, which he left to his bro-
ther Richard.

4. Walter, Lord of Lea, in the Forest of Deane.

II. Richard Fitzponts. Held Landovery-castle, and Bythan
hundred in Wales, by grant of Henry I. Three sons :

1 . Simon, founder of Clifford Priory in Herefordshire.

2 . Walter.

3. Richard.

III. Walter, governor of Landovery and Brynllis castles in
Wales: died 1216. Married Margaret, daughter of Ralph de
Toeny, Lord of Clifford-castle, in Herefordshire, and took the
name of De Clifford. Five sons :

1 . Waltn\

2. Richard de Clifford, Lord of Frampton, and ancestor of the
Cliffords of that place.

3. Roger de Clifford, o. s. p.

4. Simon, o. s. p.

5. Hugh, o. s. p. Two daughters :

1. Rosamund had issue by Henry IL two sons; William Lou-
gespee. Earl of Salisbury, and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Archbi-
shop of York.

•2 . Lucy or Alice married Hugh, Lord Say, baron of Richard's-
castle, CO. Hereford.

(t55)

IV. Walter de Cllflord, second Lord Cllftbrd of Clifford-cas-
tle, sheriff of Herefordshire, ij 8j 9, and 17 John : ob. 7 Hen, 3,
1223. Married Agnes, sole daughter and heir of Roger deCundy
of Covenby and Glentham, co. Lincoln, by Alice, sole daugh-
ter and heir to Wm. de Cheney, Lord of Covenby and Glen-
tham. Five sons ;

I. Walter.

52. Roger married Sibilla, daughter and coheir of Robert de
Ewyas, a great baron, and widow of Lord Tregoz : ob. 16
Hen. 3, leaving issue Roger, afterwards Lord Clifford.

3. Richard.

4. Simon.

5. Giles. Several daughters.

V. Walter, third loi-d, baron of the marches of Wales, go-
vernor of Caermarthen and Cardigan-castleSj 12 Hen. 5 : ob. 48
Hen. 3. Married first, Isabella, who died s. p. ; second, Mar-
garet, daughter to Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. An only daugh-
ter Matilda, married first, William Longespee, (son of William,
Earlof Salisbury,) great grandson of Rosamund Clifford, by whom
she had an only daughter and heir ess Margaret Longespee, who
brought Cliftbrd-castle in marriage to Henry de Lacy, Earl of
Lincoln; secondly. Sir John Giffard of Brimsfield, co. Glou-
cester, by whom she had three daughters,

VI. Roger, fourth Lord Clifford, nephew and ward of Walter,
third lord. Made governor of Marlborough and Luggershall-
castles, Wiltshire. Joined the rebellious barons against Henry
III. ; but afterwards relui"ned to his allegiance, and fought for
the king at Evesham. Obtained the wardship of Isabella, daugh-
ter and coheir of Robert de Vipont, a great baron in Westmore-
land. Was made justice of all the king's forests, south of Trent.
In 53 Hen. 3, appointed one of the justices in Eyre for the coun-
ties R.utland, Surrey, Southampton, Dorset, Somerset, and Glou-

TJ 2

( i56)
cestei' ; and was one of the guarantees for Robert de Ferrers, Earl of
Derby. In 54 Hen. 3, he engaged in the Crusade. In i Edw. i. mar-
ried the Countess of Lorraine: ob. i4Ed\v. i.Onesonj Roger, mar-
ried Isabella de Vipont, above-mentioned, and was slain in a skir-
mish with the Welsh in his father's life time, and buried in Anglesey.

VII. Robert, fifth Lord Clifford, grandson of the last. Was
engaged in the Scotch wars. In 1297, appointed justice of all
the king's forests north of Trent. In 27 Edw. 1, king's lieu-
tenant, and captain-general in the counties of Cumberland, West-
moreland, and Lancaster, and throughout all Annandale, and
the marches of Scotland. Summoned to parliament 28 Edw. 1 ;
also 3o, 5.?, 54 Edw. 1, and 1 Edw. 2. Appointed Earl Mar-
shal of England, and governor of Nottingham-castle, 1 Edw. 2.
Obtained a grant of Skipton-castle 3 Edw. 2. Slain at the battle of
Baunockbourne in i5i4, 8 Edw. 2. Married Matilda, daughter
and coheir of Thomas de Clare, second son of Richard, Earl of
Gloucester, lord of the honour of Clare in Ireland, whick inhe-
ritance was divided among his daughters. Two sons:

1 . Pvoger.

2. Robert.

One daughter, Idonea, married Henry, Lord Percy.

VIII. Roger, sixth Lord Clifford, attainted for taking part with
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, i32i, whereby, inter alia, his house
in London, called Clifford's Inn, was forfeited. Restored in blood
I Edw. 3. Died unmarried the same year.

IX. Robert, seventh Lord Clifford, brother of the last. Enter-
tained Edward Baliol, King of Scotland, at his castles of Appleby
and Brougham. IngEdw. 3, appointed warden of the marches of
Cumberland, and Westmoreland, and captain-general of all the
forces in those parts. In i5 Edw. 3, was engaged in the Scottish
wars : died 18 Edw. 3, aged 5g. Married Isabella de Berkeley,
only daughter of Maurice, Lord Berkeley, of Berkeley-castle.
Three sons :

i. Robert.

2. Roger.

5. Sir Thomas de Clifford, Knt. who had lands in Thomond,
in Ireland. From him descended PuchardCIiflbrd, Bishop of\7or-
cesler,in 1 401, and of London, in 1407^ whoasissted atthe Coim-
cil ofConstance, and was then appointed cardinal, and nominated
to the papacy, but waved his claim in favour of Cardinal Colonna.

X. Robert, eighth Lord Clifford. He was under age when his
father died, and a ward of Ralph de Nevill, lirst Earl of West-
moreland, who married him to his sister Euphemia, cousin ger-
man to her husband. He fought at the battle of Crecy when only
sixteen years old, and was also at the battle of Poitiers iSSy. He
died in France about i632, without issue.

XI. Pvoger, ninth Lord Clifford, brother to the last, warder of
the marches of Scotland, andgovernor of Carlisle-castle : sheriff
of Cumberland, 5o Edw. 5.; knight banneret and head sheriff of
Westmoreland: ob. i5 Rich. 2. 1589. Married Maud, daugh-
ter of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.

One son, Thomas.
Tw'O daughtei'S:

1 . Mary, married Sir Thomas Wenrworlh, of Wentworth
Woodhouse, co. York, Knt.

2. Margaret, married Sir John Mellon, Knt.

XII. Thomas, tenth Lord Clifford. Summoned to parliament
l5, i4, 1 5 Richard 2, : Married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas,
Lord Ros of Hamlake. Three sons :

I . John, eleventh Lord Clifford, w as slain at Meaux in France.
His son Thomas, twelfth lord, slain at St. Albans. John, thir-
teenth lord, son of Thomas, slain near Ferrybridge. Henry,
fourteenth lord, son of John, called the Shepherd. Henry, fif-
teenth lord, son of Henry the Shepliei'd, created Earl of Cumber-
land. George, third Earl of Cumberland, his grandson, died
i6o5, and left an only daughter and heiress, Lady Anne Clifford,

( i58)
Countess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery, ^Yho Avas Ba-
roness Clifford in her own right. Her daughter Margaret, mar-
ried John, Earl of Thanet, -wliose son Thomas had five daugh-
ters, among whom the barony of Cliftbrd was in abeyance. Lady
Catherine the eldest, married Lord Viscount Sondes, son of the
Earlof Rockingham, by whom she had three sons, who died s. p.
and a daughter Cathei'ine, married to Edward Southwell of King's
Weston, Gloucestershire, Esq. to whose descendants the barony
of Cliflord has since been confirmed.

2. Sir William Clifford, Knt. governor of Berwick, and con-
st able of Bordeaux^ o. s. p. 6 Hen. 5.

5, Lewis. One daughter Maud, married first, Richard, Earl of
Cambridge; second, John Nevill, Lord Latimer.

XHL Sir Lewis Clifford, Knt. brother of John, eleventh Lord
Clifford. Was a Knight of the Garter. In i5 Rich. 2, signed
a remonstrance to the pope, with the king, peers, and other great
men. In i5 Rich. 2, sent ambassador to France j and again 19
Rich. 2, to treat of a marriage between Isabel, the French king's
daughter, and the King of England : ob. 6Hen. 4, i4o4- One
son, TVillLcim. One daughter, married Sir Phillip la Vache.

XIV. William Clifford, Esq. married Elizabeth, daughter and
coheir to Sir Arnold Savage, Knt. : and widow of Sir Reginald
Cobham, Knt. ob. 16 Hen. 6. Two sons: t. Lewis, from
whom the Cliffords of Kent descended. 2. John.

XV. John, second son of William Clifford, married Florenlla,
daughter of Joha^t. Leger, Esq.

XVI. Tlromas Clifford, Esq. son and heir of John, seated at
Borsombe, near Sabsbury, W iltshire, mairled Thomasina, daugh-
ter, and (after the death of her bi'olher William^ s. p. 1 Hen. 8.)
heir of John Thorpe, Esq. of King's Teignton, co. Devon.

XVII. William Clifford of Borscombe and King's Teignton, son
of Thomas, married Elizabeth Vaux of Odiham, co. South-
ampton,

( i59)

XVIII. Henry Clifford, son of William, married Elizabelli
Carrant, of Tumber, co. Somerset.

XIX. Antony Clifford of Borscomb, son of Henry: ob. i58o.
Buried in Exter catbedral. Marred Anne, daughter of Sir Peter
Courtenay, Knt. ofUgbrooke, co. Devon. Three sons:

1 . Henry, from whom descended the Cliffords of Borscomb
and King's Teignton, which line ended in a female, only daugh-
ter and heir of James Cliflord, mai'ried to Colonel Bamptield.

2. William.

3. Thomas.

One daughter, Magdalen, married first, John Ley, alias Kemp-
thorne of Tonacomb, Cornwall, Esq. 3 secondly, Leonard Vacy,
of Fenton Vacy, Cornwall, Esq.

XX. Thomas Clifford of Ugbrook, county Devon, third son of
Antony, served in the wars of the Netherlands. Was afterwards
D.D. : ob. i654. Married Amy, daughter and heir of Hugh Ste-
plehill, of Bramble, co. Wilts, Esq. Two sons:

1. Hugh.

2. Thomas.
Four daughters.

XXI. Hugh Clifford ofLTgbrook, took up arms for the king in
the Scottish rebellion in iGSg, and was colonel of a regiment of
foot, but died the same year. Married Margaret, daughter of
Sir George Chudleigh ofAshton, co. Devon, Bart. Two sons :

1. Thomas, afterwards Lord Clifford.

2. George, married Elizabeth, daughter of George Price of Esher,
Surrey, and had issue George, his son and heir, Elizabeth and
Margaret.

XXII. Thomas, born at Ugbrook, Aug. i. i63o. Student of
law in the Middle Temple, twice member of parliament for Tot-
ness, made a knight, served with the Duke of York in the great
sea fight with the Dutch, June 5, i665, and afterwards at Bergen
in Norway. Was sent to treat with the kings of Sweden and Den-

(i6o)
mark. In 1666, in two other great sea-fights with the Dutch,
Same year, made comptroller of his majesty's household, and
sworn of the privy council. Afterwards, lord commissioner of
the treasury, and in i668, treasurer of the household. Created
Baron Cliftbrd of Chudleigh, April 22, 1G72 ; and same year ex-
ecuted the office of principal secretary of state, and was made
lord high treasurer, and treasurer of the exchequer. Resigned
June ig, 1673, and died the same year, aged forty-thi-ee. Mar-
ried Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of William Martin ofLind-
ridge, co. Devon, Esq. Seven sons :

J, 2, both Thomas : died infants.

5, 4, Thomas, George. : died unmarried,

5. Hugh,

6. Simon,

7. Charles. Eight daughters :

1. Elizabeth: ob. inf.

2. Elizabeth, married Henry, only son of Sir Thomas Carew
of Haccombe, co. Devon, Bart.

3. Mary, married Sir Simon Leech, K.B.

4. Amy, married John Courtney of Molland, co. Devon,

Esq.

5. 6, 7, 8, Catherine, Anne, Rhoda, Isabel, died unmarried.
XXIII. Hugh, second Lord Clifford of Chudleigh : ob. 1730.

Married Anne, daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Preston of
FurnessManor, co. Lancaster, Bart. Nine sons :

1 . Francis : ob. inf.

2. Thomas, married Charlotte, Countess of Newburg, and
left issue two daughters : Frances, who died unmarried, and
Anne, who married Count Mahoui of Naples, and was grandmo-
ther to Prince Giustiniani of Rome.

3. Francis, died in Germany, aged ig.

4. 5, 6, William, George, Charles : ob. inf.

7. Hugh, born 1700.

8. Henry : ob. csel.

( i6i )
9. Lewis Walter : died young. Six daughters :

1. Elizabeth, married first, William Constable, Viscount Dun-
bar j adiv, Charles, onlj sou of Thomas, Lord Fairfax.

2, 3, Catherine and Mary, nuns at Ghent In the Netherlands,

4. Anne, married George Cary,ofTon--abbey,co. Devon, Esq.

5. Amy, married Culhbcrt Constable of Burton-Constable,
CO. York, Esq. son of Francis Tunstall of Wycliff, Esq. by Cecily,
daughter of John, Viscount Dunbar, who by the will of William,
Viscount Dunbar, his uncle, inherited the estate, and took the
name of Constable.

6. Preston, a nun at Ghent.

XXIV. Hugh, third Lord Clifford: ob. 1732. Married Eliza-
beth, daughter and coheir of Edward Blount of Blagdou, coun-
ty Devon, Esq. (youngest son of Sir George Blount, Bart.) and
sister to Mary, Duchess of Norfolk. Four sons :

1. Hugh, fourth Lord CliUord, father of Charles, now Lord
Clifford.

2. Edward of Quarmore Park, near Lancaster, who died un-
married.

5. Henry : ob. inf.

4. Thomas, horn after his father's decease.

Two daughters :

1. Elizabeth: ob. inf.

2. Mary, married Sir Edward Smythe of Acton-Bumell, co.
Salop, Bart.

XXV. Hon. Thomas Clifford, born August 1732. In his
youth a mousquetaire in the sersice of his most Christian ma-
jesty Louis XV. : ob. June 16, 1787. Married In 1761, Barbara,
youngest daughter and coheir of James, fifth Lord Aston, who
died August 2, 1786. Eight sons:

1. Thomas Hugh.

2. Edward James : ob. inf.

V

C 162 )

5. Henry, barrister at law : ob. i8i3.

4. Walter, in holy orders, died at Palermo, 1806.

5. James Francis.

6. Arthm'.

7. Lewis, twin with Arthur, died unmarried 1806,

8. George Lambert.
. Five daughters :

1. Barbara-Elizabeth: died unmarried 179-2.

2. Mary, married in December 1792, Charles, son and heir of
of Sir William Wolseley, Bart. ^ and died in 1811, leaving issue
William Spencer, born Oct. 9, 1799.

5. Anne.

4. Lucy Bridget, married June 1^, 1796, Thomas Weld of
Lullworth-castle, Dorsetshire, Esq. and died in i8i5, leaving
issue one daughter Mary Lucy, born 1799.

5. Constantia.

XXVI. Thomas Hugh, son of the Hon. Thomas CliiTord, bom
Dec. 1762. Created a Baronet December 27, i8i4- Married in
1791, Mary Macdonald Chichester, second daughter of John
Chichester of Arlington, county Devon, Esq.

One son: Thomas Aston, born May 5, 1806.

Two daughters :

1. Mary Barbara.

2. Mai-y Isabella.

*^v\/^/\/w\^^/\/v^/^/^.'v/v"v/^-AJ

APPENDIX.

( i65)

APPENDIX.— No. I.

There is a considerable diffex'ence of opinion among the
antiquaries, respecting the measures and divisions of land in
Domesday-book J as well as concerning the rank of the dif-
ferent classes of persons then employed in agriculture. For
this reason, and because the nature and history of that singular
book, though often spoken ot, are in general but imperfectly
known • I have thought that it would not be unacceptable to the
reader, to see in this place a concise account of the book itself,
together with an explanation of the terms most commonly em-
ployed in it. This account is chiefly extracted from the Appen-
dix to Nash's valuable " History of Worcestershire," compared
with a MS. on the same subject, by Dr. Wilkes : which has been
published by the Rev. S. Shaw, in the "■ General History" pre-
fixed to his *■' History of Staffordshire."

The division of this kingdom into parts, must be coeval with
the establishment of a regular government throughout the whole
kingdom. Alfred, then, was not the first who divided England
into districts or counties ; mention being made of such division
in the laws of Ina_, and in other places. He only revived what
had been done before, making many alterations and improve-
ments j and causing a general survey of his dominions to be made
in what is called the Roll of Winchester : perhaps from its be-
ing kept in the monastery of his foundation there, or from his
making that city his favourite residence. This survey being lost.

( i66)
or from the change of divisions, tenures^ or property, super-
seded, William the Conqueror made a second Aery accurate sur-
vey called Doraesday-book, which is in wonderful preservation
at this day. It contains a survey of all the counties in England,
except Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Durham,
and part of Lancashire : which counties were never surveyed ;
perhaps on account of the king's death, or the inroads of
their neighbour Scotland ; with which kingdom they were con-
stantly at war : and therefore the lands could not be certified to
be of much value. It consists of two volumes. The first is a large
folio, finely written on 582 double pages of vellum, in a small but
plain character, and in double columns on each page. The se-
cond volume is a quarto, written on 45o double pages of vellum,
in single columns, in a fair character, somewhat larger than that
of the other volume. This contains the counties of Essex, Nor-
folk, and Suffolk ; part of the county of Rutland is included in
Northamptonshire, and part of Lancashire in the counties of York
and Chester. This survey was begun in the 14th, and finished in
the 2oth year of the reign of William the Conqueror; as appears
from the concurrent testimony of several ancient winters, and
from the following entry made at the end of the second volume,
by a hand of the time, in Italian capitals : ""Anno Millesimo Oc-
tagesimo sexto ab incarnatione Domini, vigesimo vei-oregni Wil-
lielnii est facta ista descriptio non solum per hos tres comitatus,
etiam per alios."

The Saxon Chronicle, published by Bishop Gibson, thus ex-
presses the occasion and manner of making this survey.

" After this, the ting held a grand council, and deliberated
with his nobles, in what manner, and by whom this land should
be inhabited ; for this purpose, he sent his servants throughout
all England, and into every county, with a power to enquire
how many houses were contained in each county ■ what lands and

( i67)
flocks in it belonged to the king, and what subsidies it ought to
pay yearly. He also authorised them to take an account how
much land belonged to the archbishop, bishop, abbot, and earl :
and in short, what lands and flocks belonged to each Englishman,
and the value thereof in money. He ordered them to survey the
lands so diligently that there should not be chicle, nor even a yard
of land, nor indeed (what is shameful to relate, though he was
liot ashamed to cause it to be done) an ox, or a cow, or a hog
omitted, but what should be brought into the account and deli-
vered to him in writing." (i)

Other authors give nearly the same account of the occasion of
making this survey, and its authority : That every one being
content with his own, should not with impunity encroach upon
another's right ; the king's name being set down first, and then
the names of the nobles according to their ranks : those
namely, who held of the king in capite, which book is called
Domesday-book ; or more correctly, as in the Saxon language,
Domboc : that is, the book of judgment ; because when any dis-
pute arose concerning any point therein contained, recourse was
had to this record as decisive and unalterable. Even the Conque-
ror himself is said often to have yielded to the superior autho-
rity of this book, and renounced his claim. It is then deservedly
called Liher Judicatorius : because it is the only trial of ancient
demesne, againstwhich, for the uncontroulable certainty thereof,
there can be no averment, and therefore in that respect it resem-
bles the doom and final judgment.

Commissioners were appointed by the Conqueror to make this
survey in different parts of the kingdom. They had power to ad-
minister oaths, and summon a jury, which was generally of the
county. Among these was Romigius, Bishop of Lincoln, Walter

(i) Chron. Sax.p. p. i88, ann. io85.

( i68)
Giffard, the earl ; Henry de Ferrers, and Adam, brother of
Eudo, the king's cup-beai'er.

Selden, in his preface to Eadmerus, p. 4? speaking of Domes-
da j-book, says, he does not tliiuk, that in the whole Christian world,
there is any public record of authority, but what is some ages
later than this. Indeed, the great care taken to preserve it in
the perfection in which it now is, is a sufficient proof of the con-
sequence and importance this record was deemed to be of to the
public. It was kept in the treasury, with the king's seal, under
three different locks, the keys of which were in the custody of the
treasurer, chamberlain, and deputy-chamberlain of the exche-
quer : and the book was not to be opened, but on paying a fee
of 6s. 8d. In the year i6g6, it was deposited among other va-
luable records in the chapter-house at Westminster.

Hearne, after inserting a table of the abbreviations used
in this survey, in his preface to a collection of discourses
of several leai'ned English antiquaries, adds, " I have often
wished this record was printed entirely, there being no survey of
any other country equal to it. The ancient Roman itineraries
have been always valued, and deservedly j yet ihcyare trifles in
comparison of this most admirable survey, done with so much
exactness, and so much diligence, as would be hardly credible,
were it not certain, that the Normans were resolved to make the
best use of their conquest, and to secure every inch of ground to
themselves."

Nothing was however done towards such a publication, till
the house of lords, in 1767, determined to publish their jour-
nals, and other public recoi'ds ; when the publishing of Domes-
day-book was strongly urged by several gentlemen, anxious
that so valuable a record should not be entirely lost, in case of
any accident happening to the original ; and who were also de-
sirous that the public should be made ac quainted with a book of

much curiosity, and some use, hitherto known only to a few.
In consequence of which, the board of treasury referred the
matter to the society of antiquaries, to consider whether it would
be most advisable to have it printed with types, or to have a/hc
simile copy engraved from the original. Upon enquiry of many
eminent printers, it was urged, that the combining and shifting
types of a great variety of characters with very minute differences,
would be attended with many more errors than are met with ia
common books ; and that a careful tracing of the original en-
graved on copper plates, would give the most favourable and
exact copy that could be obtained. This opinion being stated to
the board of treasury, their lordships ordered an estimate to be
made of the expense of engraving the book ; and one was accord-
ingly given in, amounting to upwards of 20,000/. which was
thought much too large a sum for such a business. A resolution
was therefore taken to print it at the public expence with types j
which has been completed, and serves to shew, that infinite indus-
try, and great abilities, will get the better of almost any difficulty.
It was printed by Mr. Nichols, the inventor of the types, under
the direction of Mr. Farley, a very able man, who had been fa-
miliar with it, and other ancient records, for forty years. For
legal pui'poses, Domesday-book may perhaps be consulted about
ten times a year ; but for cui'iosity or private purposes much
oftener.

Hida, a hide of land. The quantity of land under several de-
nominations, appears to vary in the several counties in Domes-
day. In Leicestershire, a hyde was 12 carucates.

The virgate, or yard-land, was the fourth part of a hide, and
contained from 1 5 to 40 acres.

Carucata, from carruca, charnie, a plough, consisted of as
much arable land, as a team could plough and sow in a year,

X

( 170 )

This must be different in different soils : not less than 80 acres,
nor more than 120. This word is often confounded wiih carua
and caruca,- and sometimes put lor the same thing : owing olten
to the abbreviation, which the Norman scribes were very fond
of: though caruca signifies the plough, cart, or team, and ca-
rucata, what we call the team's tillage. The hide also ap-
pears to have been arable laud, and is considered by many as
nearly synonimous with the carucate, though always in Domes-
day distinguished from it. Some are of opinion that the hide
denoted the Confessor's measure, and the carucate that of the
Conqueror. Perhaps the hide was the denomination of inclosed
land, and the caiaicate of land lying in open field. A hide was
supposed sufficient to support a house or family.

Acrce prati. As the ploughed ground is commonly measured by
hide or carucate, so is the meadow land by acres.

Silvct, sih'ula, and nemiis, are the terms for woodland in this
survey.

Leuf a and leuca are synonimous, and generally understood to
mean a mile. Quarentena & iuvlong, or eighth part of a mile.

lillanif villans, bondmen, though above the rank of servi,
or bordarii, held their lands by base tenure, and all their pro-
perty was at the will of the lord.

Villans regardant, were bound to the land as members of the
manor: Villans in gross immedii^X.QXy to \\\e person of the lord,
and his heirs, and were transferable from one owner to another.

Servi. The condition of these people differed in many in-
stances from that of the villans. They are, all through Domes-
day-book, distinguished from each other. Their condition va-
ried also in the several countries of Europe at different periods.
The curious reader will find a very particular account of them in
" Du Fresne's Glossary," under the word Sen'us.

Bordarii were tcudints of a less servile condition, who held a

( ^7^ )
torpor collage, Avith land, on condliion of supplying the lord's
table with small provisions, doing his domestic work, or even
any base service he might require. The condition of these men
was probably much the same as that of the slaves in the West
Indies, or of the peasantry in Piussia, at this day.

T'alet decern solidos. The shilling consisted of twelve pence,
and was equal in weight to something more than three of our
shillings. So that the Norman pound consisting of twenty such
shillings was 3/. 2S. of our present money.

The Saxon shilling was valued at 5d. and 48 of them went to
the pound : one of their pennies being three times the weight of
our silver penny. It is observable that there was no such piece
of money as the shilling coined in this kingdom, till the year
i5o4-

The penny was anciently the only current silver coin, till about
the reign of King John, or 7 Edw. i, according to others, when
the silver halfpence and farthings were introduced. In the year
i55o. King Edward III. began to coin large pieces, which fi'om
their size obtained the name of groats. Crowns and half-crowns
were first coined in i55i.

In doininio est ima cariicala. The land in demesne was
free of dane-geld, militaiy service, and all other charges.

xt

( ^72 )

No. II.

The foundation, and other principarEx cartis original penes
Charters of the Priory of St. Tho-V Walt. Fowler, de St.
jll^S \ TLoma armig, 1680.

1 . Sciant, etc. Quod Ego Gerardus de Stafford filius Brien
Dedi etc. in pui'am et perpetuani Eleemosjnam Sancto Thomse
etc. Totam lerram meam quani teuui de Episcopo Ccstrensi.
sc. a Kiuesbroc usq : ad Withidenslad in Longum, et in Latum
a via de Ticheshall usque in aquam sc. Sowe, et de aqua quan-
tum special ad illam terram. Hanc autem terrani, etc. pro sa-
lute animse niese etc. dedi et concessi Canouicis quos Albinus
Abbas de Dcrebi tradidit mihi ad serviendum ibidem Deo, et
Sanctee Mariae, et Sancto Thom£e, libere, et sine subjectione alte-
rius Domus. Ulis nominatim, et omnibus illis qui cum illis et
post illos ibidem Domino servient Canouicis concessi proenomina-
tam terram solutam liberam et quietam. Ego autem ei-o advo-
catus eorum et protector memorati Loci contra omnes, ita ut
nihil auferam inde vel addam ad nocentiam Domus contra consi-
lium Fralrum. Test. Herv.Vicecom. lyone de Mutton, Pagano
deWastneys, Nic. de Cotes, etc.:

2. Ricardus Dei Gratia CoventrensisEpiscopus Omnibus Homi-
nibus tam Francis quam Anglis, tarn praesentibus quam futuris
iEternam in Domino salutem. Noverilis nos de consensu etassensu
Capitulorum nostrorum Gov. et Lichf. pro Salute Animse nos-
tr£e, etc. et pro Salute Illustrissimi Regis Henrici II. conces-
sisse et dedisse inpuram et pcrpetuam Eleemosynam Deo el Sanctae
Mariae etEcclesiee Sancti Thomae Martyris de Stafford ei Canonicis

( 173)
ibidem Deo servientibus quamnos Fundavimus BurgagiumTho*
Capellani in Lichfield libere et quiete ab omni seculaii Servitio in
perpetuumpossidendum. Concedimus etiam Ecclesife et Canoni-
cis praedictis ibidem Deo servientibus et in posterum servituris
congruum Housbote, viz. meremium ad reparandam Ecclesiam
suam pi'cedlctam, Campanilia et omnia alia sedificia intra sep-
ta Prioratus jam jedificata etc. percipiend. de bosco nostro intra
forestam sive Chaciam de Kannock, et Haybote etc. Concedimus
insuper eisdem Priori et Conventui et successoribus suis Hus-
bote etc. ad reparandam Grangiam suam de Orberton etc. Con-
cedimus etiam eisdem mortuum boscum undecunque in toto nos-
tro Bosco vocat le Kannock sufficienter ad comburendum intra
Prioratum dictse Ecclesiae. Concedimus etiam etc. dictis Canoni-
cis Commune in Pasturis nostris in manerio nostro de Berkeswich
cum omnibus averiis suis etc . Concedimus etiam etc. totam
Aquam de Sowa a Stanford usque le Watur Wending cum qua-
dam placea maria vocata le Kocholme et Dumetum quod jacet in
longitudine inter terram et pratum nostrum de Halgh et pratum
delScepeswach. His testibus Clericis nostris Willielmo Capellano
etc. Et nos Prior et Capit. Ecclesiae Cathedr. Coventrens, prae-
missis omnibus et singulis consilium prsebuimuset consensum, et
quantum ad nos pertinet in perpetuum approbamus, etc. Et
nos Decanus et Capit. Ecclesiee Cathedr. Lichfield, prsemissis
omnibus et singulis consilium prsebuimus et consensum, ac ea
quantum ad nos attinetin perpetuum approbamus. In quorum
Testimonium Sigilla nostra fecimus his apponi. Dat. in manerio
de Heywood.

3. RicardusDei Gratia CoventrensisEpiscopus Omnibus Sanctee
Matris Ecclesiae filiisadquospraesentes Literaepervcnerint Salutem
in Domino, Justum est et sacrse Devotionis plenum ut ea quae locis
religiosis (idelium devotione collata esse noscuntur, ab autoritate
Episcopali accipiant firmamentum. Hinc est quod Pastorali af-
lectioue inducti Ecclesiae Sancti Thomae Martyris de Stafford, et

( '74 )
Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus et in posterum servituris, Lo-
cum ilkim quem de nobis Geradd de Staflford jure tenuit hceredi-
tario in quo Ecclesiam eorum ipsius Geraddi concessione funda-
vimus, nee non et alia sive ex nostro sive ex aliorum dono eis pie-
latis intuitu collata prsesentis scripti authoritate coufirmavimus,
quae specialibus vocabulis dignum duximus exprimere. Ex
dono nostro molendinum cum staguo et dumeto juxta Mulnedigh
ipsi stagno adheerente, quod quidem molendinum ipsi propriis
sumptibus fecerunt. Nee non Estmoram quae est contra molen-
dinum ex altera parte aquae apud Berccleswicb. Praeterea pra-
tum quod spectabat ad manerium nostrum de Eccleshall quod
crebra inundatioue aquarum saepius deperire solebat pro quo
eliam memorati fratres opera sua impensa aliud pratum satis eo
jnelius et fructuosius ad opus nostrum apud Eccleshall essaria-
Ycrunt. Nee non terram nostram de Orbi'etou quam Mabilia et
liaercdes ejus de nobis tenuerunt. Item duo Burgagia in Lich-
field, viz. Burgagium Thomee Presbyteri, et Burgagium Robb.
Item libertatem piscandi in Sowa et Pencrigh, item congruum
Husbotc, Firebote, et Heibote undecunque in Bosco nostro, quiet
tanciam paunagii propriorum porcorum suorum, et communi-
onem pasturae manerii nostri de Berccleswicb. Ex dono Alani
de Hagingata culluram suam juxta Kinisbroc. Ex dono Al-
dithae to lam terram suam de Orbreton concessione Ecclesiae de
Stafford. Ex dono ]\ic [Mauveysin] de Coles septem acras terrae in
Cotes, et liceutiam firmandi molendinum super Kinisbroc juxta
formam Cyrographi ipsivis. Ex dono Rob. de Orberton et liaere-
dum suorum concessione dni Rob. de Stafford, et Rob. del Becc,
et loh. de Hoplona tres acras terrte et dimid. in Orbrelon et li-
centiam firmandi molendinum et vivarium suum Kinesbroc.

Item ex dono nostro eandem licentiam. Ex dono Rogeri

et Hernaldi de Orberton licentiam firmandi molendinum super
Kinisbroc, item pralum qviod eis vendidit Aldewinus fiiius Golde-
wini de feodo nostro sicut ejus Cyrographum testalur. Ex dono

( 175)
Radulplu Archidiaconi domos suas in Stafford ; et ex concessi-
one Cliristianse de Wulveruue Hamton terram in qua illae domus
sitae sunt, juxia forniam scriptorum ipsorum. Ex dono Henrici
fil. Archidiaconi Helise terram suam quae est juxia prsedictas do-
mos secundum formam Cyrographi ipsius. Ex dono Stepliani de
Devenport et Alfewini Cliese terram suam in Halegtona. Hsec
itaque quae praenominata sunt, vel quae in posterum eis Canonice
coUata fuerint confirmantes sub interminatione Anathematis pro-
hibemus ne quis eis molestiam aliquam inferre praesumat vel
gravamen. Testibus Ric. Decano Lichfeld. Eccleslae. Alano Arclii-
diacono Staflbrd. Ric. Arcliidiac. Salop. Magistro Rob de Haya.
Magistro Galfrido deLenton. Wigello Capellano. Andrea Giffard.
Magistro WalterodeLillesbiria. Galfrido Rectore. Ricardo Dapi-
fci'o. Gilberto Yorm Camerario. Geraddo filio Brien. Willielmo
Clerico de Stafford, et multis aliis.

Thomas Prior et Conventus Ecclesiae Cathedralis Coventre, etc.
Noverit Universitas Vestra nos ratas habere et acceptas Donalio-
nesin omnibus Libertatibus suis quas Venerabilis Dominus Noster
Ric. Coventr. Episcopus intuitu caiutatis in puram etperpetuam
Eleemosynam contulit Deo et Ecclesiae Sancti Thomae Martyi'is de
Stafford et Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus, quam et ipse in
Dominic suo fundavit et cartarum suarum testimonio confir-
mavit.

4. Universis Christi Fidellbus praesens Scriptum visuris vel au-
diturisR. Dei Gratia Gov. et Lichf. Episcopus salutem geternam in
Domino. Privilegia dilectorum in Christofiliorum viro rum Religio-
sorumPrioris et Conventus Sancti Thomae Martyris juxta Stafford
Inspcximus in haec verba. Celestinus Episcopus Servus Servorum
Dei, Dilectis {iliis Priori el patribus Sancti Thomae IMartyris juxta
Stafford tam praesentibus quam futuris regularem vitamjirofessis in
perpeluum, Quociens a nobis petitur quae religioni el honestati
convenire dinoscitur animo nos decel libenti concedere, et juxla

( 176 )
pctentium Yoluntatem consentaneam ration! effectum congruum
impertiri. Eapropter dilectl in Domino filii vesti'is justis pos-
tulalionibus clementer annuimus, et preefatam Ecclesiam Sancti
Tliomse in qua divino estis obsequio mancipali sub Beati
Petri et nostr^ pi'otectione suscipimus et preesentis scripti privi-
legio communimus. Imprimis siquideni statuentes ut ordo Ca-
nonicus qui secundiim Deum el Beaii Augustini regulam in
eodem loco noscitur institutus perpetuis temporibus inviolabili-
ter observetur. Prseterea quascunque possessiones, quaecunque
bona eadem Ecclesia imprseseutiarum juste et canonice possidet,
vel quae concessione pontificum, largitioue Regum, vel Princi-
pum, oblatione fidelium, seualiis justis modisDeo propicio poteril
adipisci firma vobis vestrisque successoribus et illibata pernia-
neant. In quibuSj heec propriis duximus exprimenda vocabulis.
Terras quas dederunt vobis VenerabilisFrater noster Pvicardus Co-
ventr. Episcopus et GeraddusfiliusBrieu de Stafford. Terram viz.
de Scepewas cum ripis suis, pratis,et piscaturis, et cum omnibus
aliis pertincntiis suis, in qua terra prse'Ucta Ecclesia vestra sita et
fuudata est. Cislam aquae de Kincsbroc quam dedit vobis Nic. de
Cotes, et cseteri vicini ad quos eadem aqua pertinebat, ad facien-
da ibidem molendina et vivaria, et septeni acras terrae in Cotes ex
dono ejusdem Nic. de Coles. In Orberton terram quam ex
dono Aldithoe et concessione R. Decani, et Adae Canonici et to-
lius capituli de Stafford habetis. In e^dem Orberton dim. virg.
terrae, et Ires acras, etselionem ex dono Rob. de Orberton. In
ipsa Orberton terras quas ex dono Ricardi Ernaldi elGuanini ha-
betis. In eadem villa ex dono Ricardi Coventr. Episcopi homagium
Bernardi et servicium ejus el terrae suae. Ex dono ejusdem Pratum
juxta Domum vestram quod ad Ecclcshall olim spectabat, el ex
altera parte quae versus Stokes lotam Estmoram cum dumelo inter
Mulnedich el aquam, et licenliam lirmandi molendinum et siag-
mim super aquam de Sowe, et libertatem piscandi in Sowe et

( 177 )
et Pencriz et commun. paslura in manerio de Bercleswiz, ct
quietanciam pannagli propriorum poi'corum vestrorum in Bosco
Episcopali. In Lichfield duo Burgagia ex dono ejusdem sc.
R. Covcntr. Episcopi^ quae fuit Tho. Presbyteri et qu£e fuit
Rob. Ex dono Galfridi Salvagii 4 vii'gatas terrae in Duran-
desthorp cum omnibus perlin. suis. Ex dono Symonis de
Falmerisham unam Hidam terrse inFamerisham. Ex dono Rob.
de Bee et aliorum de Hopton Terram de Hetbon, et totum Black-
hull et commun. pasturae ejusdem villae secundiim cartas eorum.
In lerritorio de Hayeneyate unam culturam terrae juxta Kyncs-
broc, et aliam culturam circa Quennedale. In Iggestrond sex
acras terrae ex dono Ivonis (de Mutton) cum corpore suo. In
Ricardescote pratum quod dicilur Brocage ex dono Pieginaldi
Gawte. InHaleton ex dono Phil, de Neugent, et Milanse, dimid.
virgat. terrae. In e^dem villa ex dono Stephani etPhil. Dionis dim.
virgat. terrae. In Aldeton mansuram et toftum cum tribus acris
terrae ex dono Rob. de Kincester. In Stafford Burgagia quae Ge-
rard fii. Brien, Hugo i 1. Petri, Will. Bagod, W. Ursus, Adam
de Grenevill, Nic. de Burton, Alda de Beauchamp, dederunt vobis.
Sane novalium vestrorum quae propriis manibus vel sumptibus
colitis, sive de nutrimentis animalium vestrorum nullus a vobis
decimas exigere vel extorquere praesumat. Liceat quoque vobis
clericos vel laicos liberos et absolutes e scculo fugientes ad con-
versionem recipere, et eos absq. contradictione aiiqua retinere.
Prohibemus insuper ut nulli fratrum vestrorum post factam in
Loco vestro professionem fas sit nisi arctioris religionis optentu
de eo discedere. Discedentem vero absque communium lilei'a-
rum caulione nullus audeat retinere. Cum autem Generale Inter-
dictum Terrse fuerit, liceat vobis clausis Januis, exclusis excom-
municatis et interdiclis, non pulsatis campanis suppressa voce
divina officia celebrare. Prohibemus insuper ne quis in vos per
Ecclesiam veslram excommunicationis vel interdicii sententiam

Y

( ,78)
sine manifesla etrationabili causa proniulgare preesumat. Sepul-
turam prseterea ipsius Loci liberam esse decernimus, ut eorum
devotioni et extremae voluntati qui se illic sepeliri deliberaverint
nisi excommunicati vel interdicd sint, nullus obsistat. Salva
tamen justitia illarum Ecclesiarum a quibus mortuorum corpora
assumuntur. Obeunte vero ejusdem Loci Priore vel suorum
quolibet successormn, nullus sub qualibet subreptionis astutia
seu violentia praeponalur nisi quern fratres communi consensu

aut major pars consilii sanior Deitimorem et Beati Au-

euslini regulam providerint eligendum. Decernimus ergo ut
nulli omnino hominum liceat praefatam Ecclesiam temere per-
lurbare, aut ejus possessiones aul'erre, illibatas retinere,minuere,
seu quibuslibet vexationibus fatigare, sed omnia inlegra conser-
ventur eorum pro quoi'um gubernatione ac sustentatione con-
cessa sunt usibus omnibus profutura. Salva sedis Apostolicse au-
toritate, et Diocesani Episcopi Canonica justitia. Si quae igitur in
futurumEcclesiaslica secularisve persona banc nostras constitu-
tionis paginam sciens, contra earn temere venire temptaverit se-
cundo tertiove commonita, nisi reatum suum digna satisfactione
correxerit potcstatis honorisque sui careat dignitate, reumque
se divino judicio existere de perpetrante iniquitate cognoscat, et
a sacratissimo corpore ac sanguine Dei et Domini Redemptoris
nostrl Jesu Chrisli allena fiat atq. in extremo examine districiaeul-
tioni subjaceat. Cunctis aulem eidem Loco sua jura seivantibus

sit Pax dom. nostri Jesu Cbristi et fructum bonse actio-

nispercipiantet apud districtum judicem praemia aeternaepacis in-
veniant. Amen. IVe igitur ex malitia vel Iraude alicujus prae-
fatum privilegium devocetur in dubium preesenli paginee sigillum
nostrum ad aeternam rei memoriam fecimusapponi.

5. Sciant, etc. qd. Ego Rob. de Ferrariis filius et haeres Dni.
Will, de Ferrariis quondam Comltis Derb. Dedi et concessi, etc.
in plenariii et legitima potesiate mea Deo et Glorioso Martyri

( ^79 )
Sancto Thomse et Ecclesise suje juxta Slafford el f'ratribus mels Fr a-
triNicolao Priori et Convenlui ejusdem Ecclesise pro animamea et
pro auimabus antecessorum et successorum meorum ad Quie-
tanciam dictorum fratrum meorum manerium de Sweneshurst
et del Walneys juxta Saltford cum pertinentiis suis et cum molen-
dino super Yrevvell sito, stagno cursu aquae tota secta dicti mo-
lendini, et \'illam de Peuilton cmii omnibus villanis villenagium
ipsius villee tenentibus, et omnibus catallis et sequelis eorum. Te-
nend. etHabend. sibi et successoribus suis libere el quiele, bene
et in pace in liberam puram et perpetuam Eleemosynam lam in
Dominicis quam in Homagiis Servitiis et consuetudinibus, cum
boscis, planis, pralis, pascuis, et pasturis, aquis, moris, maris-
cis, commodis, aysiamenlis et rebus ad praedictum manerium
et caetera preedicta pertinentibus in omnibus rebus et locis sicut
Ego vel Pater meus liberius et plenius dictum manerium de Suenes-
hurst et del Walneys cum caeleris prsedictis tenuimus. Ita quidem
quod dicii Prior et Conventus et eorum successores possint sine
impedimento mei vel alicujus hseredum meorum molendina et
stagna construere, asserlare, fossare, et undique proficuum suum
de prsedicto mauerio cum suis pertinentiis facere, sicut Ego li-
berius et plenius possem si dictum manerium retinerem, quiele
ab omni servicio, consuetudine, secta curiai'um, et ommimodis
secularibus exactionibus rebus et demandis. Nihil mihi sen hse-
redibus meis in preedictis inde ulterius retinendo in perpetuum
prseler orationes preedictorum fratrum meorum. Dedi etiam eis-
dem Priori et Convenlui et eorum successoribus pro me et heere-
dibus meis in liberam, puram et perpetuam Eleemosynam Advoca-
tionem Ecclesise del Stowe subtus Charteley cum pertinentiis suis
in perpetuum. Insuper etiam dedi dictis Priori et Convenlui et
eorum successioribus Husbote et Heybote ad domos sibi facien-
das et reparandas tam in Capite quam in Grangiis et omnia alia
necessaria in libera Haya mea de Huttokeshall sine visu Foresta-

( i8o)
riorum, et llberam pasturam in preedicta Haja ad omnlmodu
Averia sua singulis anni temporibus cxceplis capris. Dedi eliam
et concessi preedictis Priori el convcntui ct eorum successoribus
pro me etheeedibus meis in liberam, puram elperpetuam Elee-
mosynam quod iidem omues porcos suos ex nutrimento illorum
provcnientes in Foresla nostra de Nedwode quandocunque tem-
pore personse in perpetuum pacificc babeant quietos de pannagio
vel in prsetata Haja de Huttokesball cum voluerint cum Hbero
et quieto ingressu ad eandem, et agressu ab eadem sine aliquo
impedimento seu aliqua exaclione vel demanda. Et Ego vero Ro-
bertus et hajredes mei praedictvxm manerium cum pertinentiis
sicut preedictum est, et preedictam Advocalione et ceetera prse-
dicta cum pertinentiis dictis Priori et conventui et corum succes-
soribus contra omnes gentes warrantizabimus, acquietabimus et
defendimus in perpetuum. Et ut haec mea donatio, concessio et
prtesentis cartse meae confirmatio robur firmilatis in perpetuum
optineatprsesenti scripto sigiUum meum apposui. His Testibus
Dominis Radulpho Basset, lohanne de Soleney, lohanne Wan-
ton. Tho.de Ardei-ne, Galfrido de Chetham militibus. Ada de Buri,
Rog. de Penilbyri, Tho. de Pestwyk, Rog. de Verney, Will de
Bockesle. Ada de Parco, Ric. Teneraj, Radulpho Barri et aliis.
Dat. apud Sanctum Thomam juxta Siafl'ord iu craslino Beati The-)
mee Martyris Anno Dom. M c c 1 x i.

C 181 )
No. III.

From the MS. o/Walter Chetwynd of Ingeslrie.

TIXALL.

Trent having passed Chartley, leaves Tixall on its southern
side, which, 20 Conq. Hen. de Ferrers heldofRog. deMontgo-
merj. But in the time of Hen. 5, Paganus Wastneys, (or de
Gastenois) was certified to hold a knight's fee here of the barony
of Staflbrd. In 9 Edw. 2, Geotfrey de Wastneys was lord of it,
in whose posterity it continued till i Edw. 4j when it fell to an
heir female, Rose by name, who being married to Sir John
Merston, Knt. and having no issue, they together sold this manor
to Sir Thomas Littleton, Knt. one of the justices of the common
pleas, as appears by the following writing, which serving to prove
several descents of the Wastneys, and being of an unusual form,
I have transcribed from the Original, now in the possession of
Wait. Lord Aston of Tixall.

" To all Christen men," etc, (as printed in Dugd.'s Origs.
Jui-idics.)

S' Tho. Littleton (after y^ death of y^ aforesaid Rose) being
possest of thismanour left it A°. 1481 to Johanna his widdow dur-
ing her life, and after to Will. Littleton his eldest son, who taking
to his first wife Helena one of y* daughters and coheirs of Tho.
Walsh of Wanlip co. Leic. esq. setded this lord^ on his issue by
her, by whom he had an only daughter called Joan, who mar-
ried S"^ John Aston of Heywood Kt. Bannerett, and brought both
Wanlip and this mauour to her husband. Since which time it
hath continued y* chief seat of that family.

The Church here (now reputed a Parish Church) was formerly

( '83 )
a Prebend belonging to the Collegiate Church of St. Mary in Staf-
ford. But y*^ lords of y*^ manor had y" advowson as is evident by
y* Fine above recited. The Rectory is valued in y* King's books
att 8'--oo'-o8''-

HEYWOOD.

Trent having received its tribute from Sow passeth Haywood
Bridge, and enters y* parish of Colwich consisting of Shutbo-
rough (before-mentioned) Colwich, Wolseley, Bishlon, Morton,
and Frodeswall, halfe Haywood, a part of Hixon, Lea, and
Drengeton, all which are within y« manour or leet of Haywood
as are also y" hamlelts of Walton, Broclvtouj Stockton, Berkes-
wich, Acton, and Bedenhall, in y* Hundred of Cuttlesdon.

( i)Haywood(so calledfor that it formerly stood on one ofy" Hayes
or Bounds of the Foi-est of Canock) was in y* Conquerour's time
divided betwixt y*Bp. of Coventr. andLichf. and Rog. deMontgo-
meriEarl of Arundell and Shrewsbury. The Bishop's part being
certified att y* Generall Survey to contain lo carucates of land,
there being then a Preist (or Church) and a mill of 5s. with woods
2 miles in length and one in breadth valued at 4os. all which
belonged to y* church of St. Chadde in y* time of K. Edw. y*
Confessor. The succeeding Bishops were lords thereof till y*
time of K. Edw. VI. when ]\ichard Sampson passed it in ex-
change (together with Shutborough) to Will. Ld. Pagett, whose
great grandson Will. Ld. Pagett hath now y" Royalty, and cei'-
tain copyhold tenants there.

In this part of Haywood lye y* farmes of Swayncsmore, and
Coley, formerly belonging lo y^ Bp. and after to Will. Ld. Pa-
get!, which falling to y* ci'own by y® attainder of Thomas Ld.

(i) Domesd. Lib.

( i83 )
Paget (his son,) were by Q. EUz. leased out for 5 lives (together
■with y* scite of Shutborough man"", as is there declared) to Tho.
Whitbey gent, the reversion whereof was after purchased 18 Jac.
by John his son, whose grandson Tho. Whitbey of Haywood
gent, is now owner of them, 1680.

The other half of Haywood (lying within y* parish of Stow and
man"", of Chartley) is now y* inheritance of Walter Ld. Aston,
(ij the greater part thereof being purchased of Rob. de Ferrers
earle of Derby by Rog. (y* son of Ralph) de Aston, who fixed his
seat here, and was y® first of his family that had any thing to do
in this county. This Roger, and Roger de Napton (of whom I
have spoken in Bi'oughton) were y^ particular favourites of Roger
de Molend. Bp. of Gov. and Lich. were both advanced by
him, and probably had their names from him, y* latter being his
nephew, but how y® other was related to him I have not seen.
(2) In 1 4 E. I , this Roger was by y^said Bp. made Constable of his
Castle att Eccleshall. In 17 E. 1, he granted to him and his heirs
sevei-all lands and tenements in Haywood and Bishton to be held
by him andhissuccessorsbyy^serviceof the 8thpt. of aknt.'sfee,
and 8s. of yearly rent. In 19 Edw. 1, and y' 54 year of his consecra-
tion by another grant (wherein he is styled Dilectus Valettus
suus) he gave him y* inheritance of all those lands which sometime
belonged to Philip Noell in Longdon, y* chief guardianship of all
his Parks and Hayes with the Free Chase of Canock, y* custody
of all his woods belonging to his Baronyes of Lichfield and Hay-
wood, with Paunage for 5o swine and Common of pasture for all
his beasts in all y* aforesaid woods, (except y' Parks and Assarts)
together with 4 oakes yearly for fire, and one for timber for y® re-
pairing his house (all which grants were then ratified by the Prior
and Convent of Coventry and Dean and Chapter of Lichfield),
(5) He married Sibilly* daughter of James de la Laund with whom

(i) Esautog. peues Walt. Doni. Astou. (a) Ibid. (3) Ibid.

( ^84)

lie had in fraulve marriage certain lands in Lea and Mershton
(co. War.) and haying also purchased divers others (besides
those before-mentioned) in Haywood, Hixon, Longdon, Brock-
ton, Handsacre, and King's Bromley, died 20 E. 2, leaving S''
John de Aston Kt. his son and heir, whose descendants very
much enlarged their possessions by their marriages ; (4) for
by Eliz. sister and coheir of Reginald de Legh they had
y* manour of Park-hall and y^ 3d part of y* manour of Leigh,
by Joice Fi-evill y^ manours of Ashtede and Wewdigate in Sur-
rey, Becknore CO. "Wore. Yalesbury co. Wilts. Piuley within y*
liberties of y*^ City of Coventre, and y" moities of y*^ manours of
Beldesert and Henley in Arden, with the advowson of the
church of Preston, co War. Joan Littleton brought them y*
manour of Wanlip co. Leic. and that of Tixall in this county
which hath ever since continued their principall seat ; and by Eli-
zabeth Leveson they had y* reversion of y* manour of Shustoke,
y*' villages of Bolehall and Glascote, a moiety of Piricroft with
severall messuages in Amington, Austrey, Whaleley, Wood-
houses, Maxstoke, Colshull, and Tamworth, co. War. The
greatest part of which came after by descent to S"^ Edward Aston
of Tixall Kt. who att y* time of his death (Sg Eliz.) was also
seized of the manours ofMilwich, Kinstou, Helton, Bradnoppe^
and Mathefield, in this county, and that of Edlaston co. Derb.
leaving Walter his son and heir then 17 years of age, who being
by K. James employed as one of his Ambassadors Extraordinary
to y* Spanish Court, to manage the intricate and mysterious trea-
ty of marriage then depending betwixt y' 2 Crowns, was for his
good and faithful service advanced by (5)K. C. 1. (28 JNov. 1627)
to y'' dignity of Lord Aston of Forfare in Scotland. He purchased
y*^ manour of Colton in this county but sold much more of his
ancient patrimony, and having married Gertrude the daughter of

(4) laquis. Bg Eliz. (5) Pat, Regis penes Walt. Dom. Astou.

( i85 )

S' Tho. Sadler Kt. and onely sisterto Ralph Sadler of Standen co.
Hertf. esq. had issue Walter Ld. Astou, who after the death of y®
said Ralph without issue A°. 1660 succeeded to the fair inheri-
tance of y" Sadlers, and dying A". 1678 left by Mary daughter
to Richard E. of Pordand, Ld. Treasurer of England, Waiter
Lord Aston now living 1680.

( 186)

No. IV.

Shewing the direct Descent of the late

SIR AVILLIAM JERNINGHA.M, Bart,

CLAIMANT OF THE BARONY OF STAFFORD,

FROM

Edmund, tlie first summoned Baron de Stafford,
27th Edw. I.

1. EdjMukd Baron de Stafford by tenure of the Castle and Ma-
nor of Stafford, granted at the Conquest, to his ancestor, Robert
de Stafford.

Had Livery of the lands of his Father Nicholas Baron de Staf-
ford, 2a Edward I. is2g5.

Summoned to Parliament -27 Edward L 1298, by the descrip-
tion of Edmund Baron de Stafford.

Summoned also to the several Parliaments in 28, 3o, 32,
53, 54, and 35 Edward \. and in 1 Edward II.

Married Margaret, daughter and at length Heir of Ralph Lord
Basset of Drayton.

Died 2 Edward I. anno i5o8j — buried in the church of the
Friers Minors at Stafford.

II

2. Ralph de Stafford, K. G. Earl and Baron de Stafford, at-
tained 21, and received livery of his father's lands 17 Edward II,
i325.

Summoned to Parliament as Baron de Stafford, i and 10 Edw. H.

( ^87 )
and in all the succeeding parliaments to the 24lh of that reign :
made Seneschal of Gascony 19 Edward III. and Knight of the Gar-
ter, on first foundation of the Order 23 Edward III.

Created in parliament Earl of the town and county of Stafford
by patent to him and his heirs, dated 5 March 2.5 Edward III. • and
the following year constituted the king's lieutenant and captain-
general in the Dutchy of Aquitaine.

Married the Lady Margaret de Audeley^ sole daughter and heir
of Hugh de Audeley, Earl of Gloucester, by Margaret de Clare,
daughter and coheir of Gilbert de Clare surnamed the red, Earl of
Gloucester and Hertford, and of his wife, Joan Plantagenet of
Acres, daughter of King Edward I.

Died 3i August 46 Edward III. anno 1572, and buried at Tun-
bridge in Kent.

II

3. Hugh de Stafford, 2d son, K. G. Earl and Baron de Staftord
(his elder brother, Ralph, Lord de Stafford, having died in his fa-
ther's lifetime, leaving no issue by his wife the Lady Maud Plan-
tagenet, daughter of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, grandson of King
Henry m.)

Married the Lady Philippa de Beauchamp, 2d daughter of Tho-
mas de Beauchamp 14th Earl of Warwick, by Catherine, eldest
daughter of Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March.

Died at Rhodes, on his return from the Holy Land, 10 Rich. II.
anno i386, and buried in the priory of Stone in Staffordshire.

II

4. Edmund de Stafford, K. G. Earl and Baron de Stafford,
etc. etc.

Married the Lady Ann Plantagenet, only surviving child and

heir of King Edward Illd's youngest son, Thomas Plantagenet of

Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Buckingham, by

his wife Eleanor de Bohun, who was eldest of the two daughters

and coheirs of Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Essex,

(i88)
and Northampton, in fee, hereditary High Constable of England,
and grandson and heir of the body of Lady Elizabeth Plantage-
net, daughter of King Edward I. by Eleanor of Castille, his first
wife.

Mary, the other daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun,
was the wife of Henry Plantagenet Earl of Lancaster, afterwards
King Henry IV. ; but on the death of her grandson King Henry
the Vlth. without issue^ the entirety of iheinheritance andhonours
of the house of Bohun became vested in the posterity of her eldest
sister.

Slain fighting for King Henry IV. at the battle of Shrewsbury,
anno i4o3, and buried in the church of the Austin Friars at
Stafford.

li

5. Humphry de Stafford, K.G. Earl and Baron de Stafford,
etc. and ist Stafford Dulie of Buckingham.

Made Count of the province of Pcrche in France, 8 Henry V-

Styled, in an indenture 22 Henry VI. " The Right Mighty
Prince Humphry, Earl of Buckingham, Hereford, Stafford,
Northampton, and Perche, Lord of Brecknock and Holder-
ness. ' etc.

Created Duke of Buckingham to him and the heirs male of his
body, 23 Henry VI.

Obtained a special grant, by letters patent, 2 5 Henry VI. unto
himself and his heirs, for precedence above all dukes whether in
England or France, excepting of the royal blood.

Married the Lady Anne Nevill, 5d daughter of Ralph, ist
Nevill Earl of Westmoreland, and K. G. by his 2d wife Joan
Beaufort, only daughter of John Plantagenet of Gaunt, Duke of
Lancaster, by his 5d wife the Lady Catherine Swinford.

Slain fighting for King Henry VI. at the battle of Northamptonj

anno i46o; Interred in the monastery of Grey Friers of that
town,

II

6. Humphry Earl of Stafford, K. G. slain in the lifetime of his
father, fighting for King Henry VI. at the battle of St. Albans,
anno i455.

Married the Lady Margaret Beaufort, sister and coher of Ed-
mund, last Beaufort Duke of Somerset, and daughter of Ed-
mund, Duke of Somerset, by Eleanor, daughter and coheir of
Richard de Beauchamp, i6th Earl of Warwick.

This Edmund, Duke of Somerset, was grandson and heir of
John Plantagenet of Gaunt,Dukeof Lancaster, by his before-men-
tioned wife the Lady Catherine Swinford • and uncle to Marga-
ret, Countess of Richmond, mother of King Henry VIL

II

7. Henry de STAFfORD, K. G. Duke of Buckingham, Earl of
Hereford, Essex, Northampton, Stafford, and Buckingham, Baron
de StafToi'd, etc. and hereditary High Constable of England.

Married the Lady Catherine Widvill, daughter of Richard,
Earl Rivers, by Jaquet, daughter of Peter of Luxemburgh, Earl
of St. Paul, and widow of King Henry Vth's brother, John Plan-
tagenet, Duke of Bedford, and Regent of France.

The sister of this Catherine was Queen to King Edward the
IV th. and mother to Elizabeth, Queen to Henry VII.

Henry, Duke of Buckingham, having been the principal agent
in raising King Richard III. to the throne, Avas invested by that
monarch with the hereditary high constableship, and the remain-
ing moiety of the Bohun inheritance which had been withheld
by King Edward IV. since the death of Henry VI. ; but he was
shortly after beheaded on a summary process at Salisbury,
1 Richard III. and attainted by act of parliament the following
year.

( '9« )

S.Edward Stafford, K.G. Duke of Buckingham, etc. etc. Re-
stored to all his father's honors and estates, i Henry VII.

Married the Lady Eleanor Percy, eldest daughter of Henry,
4th Percy Earl of Northumberland, K.G. by Maud, daughter of
Wm. Herbert, Earl of Pembroke.

Beheaded, for supposed treason against KingHenry VIII. anno
i52 1 , and attainted by act of parliament the following year.

Seised in Fee, at the time of his death, of the earldoms of He-
reford, Essex, Northampton, Stafford and Buckingham, of the
baronies of de Stafford and Basset of Drayton, and of the office of
hereditary llijjh Constable of England.

li

g. Henry Baron de Stafford. Restored to a small portion
of his father's lands, 1 4 Henry VIII. and in particular, to themanor
of Forebridge in the county of Stafford ; and in -2 3 Henry VIII.
to the ancient baronial casde and manor of Stafford, with a cer-
tain manor called Stafford Manor and Stafford Rentj all which
have descended to, and are now in possession of his lineal heir.
Sir George Jerniugham, Bart, claimant to the barony of de
Stafford.

Restored in blood by act of parliament, i Edward VI. intituled,
" An Act for the Restitution in Blonde of the Lord Stafford,"
and passed on the petition ol Henry Staffoid himself, praying,
••' Thatitmayebe at the humble Petic'on of your saide subgecte
" ordeyned established and enactedby your Highnes with th'as-
" sent of the Lordes Sp'uall and Temporall and of the Com'ons
" in this p'nt Filament assembled and by th'auctoritie of the same
" That your saide Subgect Henry Stafford and the Heires
" Males of his bodye maye and shal be accepted taken known re-
" puted called and written from hensfurth by the name of Lorde
" Stafford. And that the saide Henry and the Heires Males of his

( 19^ )
" bodye cominge shal have and enjoye in and at all Pavlyaments
"■ and oilier places the roume name place and voyce of a Baron.
" And that the saide Henry- and his Heires he and shalle by
"■ th'auctoritie of this Act restored and enhahled in hloode as
•' Sonne and Heire and Heyres to the saide Edwarde late
" Duke of Buckjnghani and made Heyre and Heires to the
' ' saide Edward late Duke of Buckjnghani bj the name of horde
" Stafforde in bloode.

*' And that the saide Henry and his Heires maye use and have
" anny action or suite and make his pedigree and conveyannce in
"■ bloude as Heire as]well to and from his saide Father as also to any
" other parsone or parsons in lyke manner and forme as yf the
" said Duke had never byn attaynted and as yf no such attayn-
" der were or had byn had, the corruption of bloode betweene
"■ the saide late Duke and the saide Henry and his Heires or any
" Acte of P'lament or judgement concerninge th'attaynd' of the
" saide late Duke or anny other thing whereby the bloude of the
" saide late Duke is or should be corrupted to the contrarie in
" any wise notw'standing So allwayes it be not to conveye the
" saide Henry or his Heires to any estate dignitie name prehe-
" minence possessions or heredytaments that were of the saide
" late Duke father the saide Henry other then such as byn in this
" Act Ijmitted and appointed to jo' saide Subgecte."

Summoned to Parliament as Baron de Stafford, from 2 Edw. VL
to 1 Eliz. and on a question oi precedency , it was determined in
a Committee of Privileges of the Loi'ds 12 Feb. 4- and 5 Philip
and Mary, that the Lord Stafford ranked according to the pre-
cedency of his ancestors Barons de Stafford, fi'om their first
writ of summons to Parliament 27 Edward I.

Married the Lady Ursula Pole, only daughter of Sir Richard
Pole, K. G. by Margaret Plantagenet Countess of Salisbury, daugh-
ter and sole heir of King Edward the Fourth's brother,
George, Duke of Clarence, by Isabel, daughter and heir of

( '92 )

Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick and Salisbury and of his
wife Ann Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick in her own right.
Died 5 Eliz. anno i562.

II

ID. Edward Stafford, Baron de StafFoi'd. Summoned to
Parliament from 25 to 4^ Elizabeth.

Mai-ried the Lady Mary Stanley, 5d daughter of Edward, 3d
Stanley Earl of Derby, K. G. by the Lady Dorothy Howard,
daughter of Thomas, 2d Duke of Norfolk. Died i James L anno
i6o3.

11. Edward Stafford, Baron de Stafford. Summoned to all
the Parliaments of King James L

Married Isabel, daughter of Thomas Forrester of Tong Castle,
in the county of Salop, Esq.

11

12. Hon. Edward Stafford, married Ann the daughter of Sir
James Wilsfoid, of IVewnham Hall in the county of Essex,
Knight.

Died in his father's lifetime, anno 162 1 , leaving one son Henry ^
who became Lord Stafford, and died abatchelor in the year iSSy,
and one daughter Mary, who became his sole heir.

II

i3. Mary Stafford, Baroness de Stafford. Summoned to at-
tend the Coronation of King James IL anno i685, as Baroness de
Stafford by descent, and ranked according to the antiquity of
the old Stafford Barony (as settled by the Committee of Privileges
of the House of Lords, 12 Feb. 4 snd 5 Philip and Mary, in fa-
vour of her great great grandfather Henry, the restored Lord de
Stafford.)

Also Baroness Stafford hy ■p&l&nl 16 Charles L so created, on
her marriage with Sir "William Howard, (afterwards Viscount
Stafford, who was the 2d son of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arun-
dell, Surrey, and Norfolk, and Earl Marshal of England, and was

( 19^)
beheaded and attainied in 1680) Sir William Howard being like-
wise created Baron Stafford, under the same letters patent, ex-
pressed as follows :

" Know ye that We, etc. have erected preferred and created
*■' the aforesaid William Howard and Mary his Wife respectively
*■' to the state degree dignity and honor of Baron and Baroness of
' ' Staflbrd, and the same William and ^Isixy respectively Baron and
" Baroness of Stafford by the tenor of these presents We do prefer
" constitute and create; and to the same William and Mary re^/^ec-
" lively We have imposed given and bestowed and by these pre-
" sents do give and bestow the slate degree dignity stile title name
" and honor of Baron and Baroness c>i'S>\.^^ovA., to have and to
" HOLD respectively the same state degree dignity stile title name
' * and honor oi Baron and Baroness to the same William and Mary
" and \\\e, Heirs Mafe of the bodies of the same William and
" Mary lawfully begotten or to be begotten, and for default of
" such issue, then to the heirs of the bodies of the same Wil-
" liam and Mary lawfully begotten or to be begotten."

Mary Baroness de Stafford, after being so summoned (five years
after the execution and attainder of her husband) to the Coronation
of King James H. was created a countess in rank for life, and
dying in the year i6g3, was interred in Westminster Abbey, next
to the tomb of her ancestor Eleanor de Bohun, the wife of Tho-
mas Plantagenet of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, leaving
issue

II

Henry

A A

( 194)

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( 195)

II

" Sir William jERNiNGHAM,Bart. of Stafford Castle, and of Cos-
tessey in the co. of Norfolk.

Presented his petition of right to the King (at the death of Lady
Anastasia Staflbrd in 1807), praying to be summoned to Parlia-
ment as Baron de Stafford :

ist. As sole Heir of the body of Edward, last Stafford Duke of
Buckingham, Father to Henry, the restored Baron de Stafford -
and as such, clearly entitled (in the language of the said Act of
Restitution, i Edw. VI.) to the description of " Heire to the saide
' ' Edwarde late Duke of Buckingham by the name of horde Staf-
*■' Jorde in ^/oo^e," but, nevertheless, so as not to take " any
" estate dignitie name prehemjnence possession or heredyta-
"■ ments that were 0/ the saide late Duke, Father to the saide
"■ Henrj, other then such as bjn in this Act Ijmitted and ap-
" pointed" that is, to take the ancient Barony of Stafford, alone,
of the several dignities and honours, in fee, of which the last Staf-
ford Duke of Buckingham died seised, all which would other-
wisehave descended to him Sir Wm. Jerningham, the lineal Heire
of the said Duke.

adly. As sole Heir of the Body of Mary Stafford, ,the Wife of
Sir William Howard, who was Bai'oness de Stafford as well by
descent from her great Grandfather Henry the restored Lord, as
by LETTERS PATENT i6 Charles I, creating her and her husband re-
>yyt?ec^iVe/^- Baron and Baroness de Stafford, \q\vo\& respectively \.o
them and the respective Heirs of their bodies.

Married the Hon. Francis Dillon, eldest Daughter of Henry,
11th Lord Viscount Dillon, by the Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest
Daughter and Coheir of Henry, Earl of Litchfield, Grandson
of King Charles IL by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland,

( 196)
Departed this life, Aug. 14, 1809.

li

18. Sir George Jerningham, Baronet, the present Claimant,
the 18th in lineal descent from Edmund de Staiford summoned
to Parliament as Baron de Stafford^ 27 Edw. I.

f\/\/\A/w\/\/NA/\/%/^-'\/\/Nyvnj

( 197 )

No. Y.
GENEALOGICAL NOTICES

CONCERNING THE INTERMARRIAGES OF THE

ASTON FAMILY.

Prope autem Sowi et Trentae conUuentes inlersidet Ticks-hall,
babitatio familiae Astonorum ; quse autiquitate sua, et cogaatione,
io hoc tractu imprimis Celebris.

Near the confluence of the Sow and Trent, but between those
rivers, lies Tisall, the seat of the family of Aston ; which, for its
antiquity and alliances, is, in those parts, particularly famous.

Camden's " Britannia."

DeLaLaunde. Sybilla, the wife of Roger de Aston, was daugh-
ter of Sir James de la Launde, Knt. who granted certain lauds
to the monastery of Benedictine nuns at Henwood, in Langdon,
CO. Warw. which was founded by his ancestor Kettelbume, of
Langdon, in the reign of Henry I. She brought him lands in
Lea and Merston, in the county of Warwick.

WoLSELEY. A remai'kable instance of a family residing at the
same place under the same name, for more than six centuries.
— From Edric, who lived at Wolseley in the time of Wil-
liam Rufus, descended Richard de Wolseley, who 25 Edw. t,

( igs )

married Sjbilla, daughter of Roger de jlston, who gave her all
his lands in Bishton, in frank marriage, by a deed witnessed by
Henry Mauveysin, Knt. and John de CoI\vich.(i) These lands
have remained with the family to this day. In the reign of Ed-
ward IV. Ralph Wolseley, one of the barons of the exchequer,
married Margaret, widow ofRobt. Kinnardsley of Loxley, and
daughterof Sir Robert Aston, Knt. From them descended Sir
Robert Wolseley, who was created a baronet, 4 Car. i . His son
Sir Charles Wolseley, represented the county of Stafford in par-
liament, in 1654 and i656, and was in great favour with the Pro-
tector. He wrote a book intitled "■ Justification Evangelical,"
and other works. He had 7 sons and ten daughters ; and died in
17^4' aged 85. Richard his sixth son, who Avas his heir, mar-
ried an heiress in Ii-eland, and settled one of his younger sons
in that country, who was afterwards made a baronet. Elizabeth,
his eldest daughter, was married to Robert Somerville of Ed-
stone, CO. Warwick, Esq. whose eldest son Wm. Somerville, au-
thor of the '' Chace," was born at Wolseley, Sept. a, 1675.(2)
Sir Charles, the present baronet married first Mary, daughter of
the late Hon. Thomas Clifford, and grand daughter of James,
fifth Lord Aston, by whom he has one son living, Spencer Wil-
liam, born Oct. 17995 sdly, Anne, second daughter of Antony
Wnghtj Esq. by whom he has issue,

Malveysin. a very ancient family of Norman extraction,
settled at Mavesyn Ridware, co. Stafford, whence its name.
(See a very learned and interesting account of the Mavesyns
in Shaw's History of Staffordshire, vol. i . from the pen of Mr.
Chadwick, their descendant.)

(i) Chet^^yndMS. (2) Colwich Register.

( '99 )

Leigh. The parish of Leigh was a dependency of the abbey
of Burton upon Trent, and was held by Robertus Filius Veneti,
in the reign of Henry I. in fee farm, paying L^L per ann. to the
abbot. His great grandson Philip de Leigh had a son Robert,
who was sherifl'of Stafford^ 12 Hen. 3, ; but died without issue.
His estates were then divided among the three sisters of his father
Philip. Helen, the second, married Hugo of High Leigh, co.
Salop, and had a third part of Leigh for her portion. Their
great grandson Richard de Leigh, (ii Edw. 3.) had a son Regi-
nald, who died s. p. and two daughters, coheiresses : Elizabeth,
who married Sir Thos. Aston, and had a third part of Leigh,
and the mansion of Park-haUj co. Stafford j and Joan, who mar-
ried Thos. de Gattacre, co. Salop, and inherited High Leigh.
Elizabeth bore for High Leigh, Argent, afess with two pellets
in chief , sable . ForLeigh^ Gules, frettj of ten pieces or, afess
sable. This latter coat of arms is blazoned in the highest pane of
the great west Avindow of Leigh church. In consequence of this
marriage the Aslons resided much at Park-hall, till they became
possessors of Tixall. The old mansion does not now exist j a farm-
house appears to have been erected on the scite, and is surround-
ed by a moat, over which is thrown a handsome stone-bridge.
In the windows of this house are preserved a few panes of stained
glass belonging to the old mansion, exhibiting ancient coats of
arms of the Aston family, with their early quarterings.

Frevile. The family of Freviles, says Dugdale, was anciently
settled in the county of Cambridge, and though but one of them
had ever summons to Parliament, was of eminent note, some ages
before that time, and since. The Grst he makes mention of is>
Baldwin de Frevile, who in i5 Hen. 3, obtained the wardship of
Lucia, daughter and heir of Richard de Scalers, and soon after
made her his wife : and in 00 Hen. 5, upon collection of the aid
for marrying the king's daughter, he paid i5/. for 1 5 knights' fees,

( 200 )

■which were of her inheritance. Their grandson, Alexander, had
summons to Parliament, as a baron of the reahn, i Edw. 3, and
was engaged in all the Scottish wars under Edward I. and II. His
wife, Joan Cromwell, was a very great heiress : being daughter
and heiress to Ralph, Lord Cromwell, and Mazera Marmion,
one of the heiresses of Sir Philip Marmion. She was also one of
the heirs of Isabella, daughter and coheiress to Hugh de Kilpeck.
By her, Alexander de Frevilc obtained, besides large estates,
Tamworth-castlcj the ancient seat of the Marmions. His grand-
son, Baldwin, married first, Eliz. de Montfort, also a great hei-
ress, who brought him the castle of Beldesert, near Henley in
Arden, co. Warwick. This Baldwin de Frevile was in great
esteem with the Black Prince, and for his approved fidelity and
service, was made by him 38 Edw. 3, his seneschal of Saintonge
and Gascony, for life. In 1367, he was of the expedition into
Spain, under the Black Prince, in behalf of Peter the Cruel, and
at the battle of Naiara, fought in the prince's battalion. His name
occurs in almost all the battles and skirmishes which took place in
France during that warlike period, and particularly in that where
Sir John Chandos was so unfortunately slain. (See Barnes's His-
tory of Edward III. b. 4, pp. 723, 763, 64, 76, 84, 804, i5,
18, 52.) He married sdly, Ida Clinton, and 3dly, Joan, daugh-
ter of Lord Strange, and died 49 Edw. 5. Sir Baldwin de Fre-
vile, his son, by Elizabeth Montfort married first, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Thomas Botetourt, and she dying without issue,
he married sdly, Joyce, her sister, who after the death of her
only brother, became the heir of her father. This Sir Baldwin ex-
hibited his claim to be iheking's championon theday of the corona-
tion, 1 Rich. 2, 1577, as being the possessor of Tamworth-castle,
which service the Marmions, anciently lords thereof, from whom
he was descended, had performed. But Sir JohnDymock, his
competitor, carried it by judgment of the Constable and Earl

( 201 )

Marshal of England, in regard of the lordship of Scrivelby in
Lincolnshire, Avhich did appear to be held by that service : and
that the Marmions enjoyed that office as owners thereof, and
not of Tamworth-castle. This lordship of Scrivelby descended
to Dymock, by the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Ludlow,
who was husband of Joan, youngest daughter of Sir Philip Mar-
mion. The Dymocks still possess Scrivelby, and exercise the of-
fice of champion. The last male of the Freviles, was another
Baldwin, grandson of this Sir Baldwin, who died unmarried :
when all the great Frevile estates devolved to his three sisters, and
coheiresses, Elizabeth, Joyce, and Margaret. Elizabeth, the
eldest, married Thomas, second son of William, fifth Lord Fer-
rers of Groby, and brought him in marriage the castle and ma-
nor of Tamworth, with other estates : Margaret, the youngest
married first, Sir Hugh Willoughby, Knt. from whom the pre-
sent Lord Middleton is descended ■ and adly, Sir Richard Bing-
ham, Knt. : Jojce, the second daughter, married Sir Roger As-
ton, Knt. and inherited the manors of Ashted, and Newdigate,
CO. Surrey 5 Bicknor, co. "Wore, j Yatesbury, co. Wilts, Pin-
ley within the liberties of Coventry, and the moiety of the manor
of Henley inArden, with the manor and castle of Beldesert, co.
Wai'w. and the advowson of the church of Preston juxta Henley.
Quarterings of Joyce de Frevile, wife of Sir Roger Aston, Knt.

1. Scalers or Scales. Gules, six escallops, argent.

2. Cromwell. Argent, a chief gules, a bend azure.

3. Kilpeck. Gules, a sword argent.

4. Marmion. Vairy, a fess gules.

5. Montfort. Bendy of 10, or, and azure.

6. Botetourt, or, a saltier engrailed, sable.

7. De la Zouche.

8. Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford.

9. Somery, Baron of Dudley. Or, two lions passant, argent.

10. Fitz-Ansculph.

Bfi

( 202 )

11. Pagauel.

12. Chaucumbe. Or, a chief purpure, a pale, gules.

i3. Frevile. Or, on a cross flory , gules, live lozenges vairy.
Also, gules, three crescents, ermine.

Scales. Richard de Scales, or Scalers, father of Lucia Fre-
vile, was the son of Hardouin de Scales, one of the valiant INor-
mans, who accompanied the Conqueror in his expedition into
England. In reward of his services, he obtained the manor of
Widihali, co. Herts, where he resided, and many other Manoi'S
in that county, and was made baron by tenure. Dying without
issue male, a great part of his property devolved on Hugh, second
son of Hardouin, whose descendant Thomas, Lord Scales, was
delivered up to the Yorkists in 1 460, after the battle of North-
ampton, and was by them put to death. His daughter and heir
was married to Antony Woodville, Earl Rivers, brother to Eliza-
beth, Queen of Edward IV. who in her right was summoned to
parliament as Lord Scales. His near connexion with the young
princes, sous of Edward IV. made him obnoxious to Richard IIL j
he was assassinated, and all his lands were seized by that crafty
and ambitious tyrant.

Marmion. Robert Marmion, Lord of Fonlcnay, in Normandy,
and hereditary champion to the dukes thereof, came over with
William the Conqueror, who made him a grant of the castle of
Tamworlh, and the adjacent territory. This transaction, was
I'ecorded in painted glass, on an ancient window, in Tamworth
church, which still existed in the time of Dugdale. The king,
with his crown and robes of state, was represented standing be-
fore the gate of a castle, and presenting the charter and a
sword to Marmion.

He hailed him Lord of Fontenaye,
Of Lutterward and Scrivelbaye,
Of Tamworth tower aud town.

Scott's Marmion. — Canto I.

( 203 )

He had issue Robert, his son and heir, to whom King Henry I.
by his charier, dated at Cannock, co. Stafford, granted free war-
ren in all his lands at Tamworlh, and elsewhere, in the co. War-
wick, as his father had before him. This Robert, being a great
adversary to the Earl of Chester, in 8 Stephen, entered the Priory
of Coventry, near unto which the said earl had a castle, and drove
out the monks. He then fortified it, making in the fields adjacent,
divers deep ditches lightly covered over, with the intent that
Such as made approaches thereto might be entrapped : but it so
happened, that as he rode himself to view the earl's forces that
began to draw near it, he fell into one of them, and broke his
thigh ; so that he was forthwith seized on by a common soldier,
who immediately cut off his head. Robert, his son and heir,
died 2 Henry 3, leaving three sons, two that bore the name of Ro-
bert, and William. From Robert the younger, sprung a race
which flourished in Lincolnshire for many generations after the
elder branch of the Marmions was extinct. Robert, the elder,
was obliged, 17 Hen. 3, to retire into Normandy, in oixler to
preserve his possessions there ; on which account, he left the ma-
nagement of his estates in England, together with the guardian-
ship of Philip, his son and heir, to the celebrated Peter de Ru-
pibus. Bishop of Winchester. Peter having been appointed grand
justiciary and regent of the kingdom by King John, during an ex-
pedition which that prince made into France, he so disgusted the
whole nation by his arbitrary proceedings, that the king found it
necessary at his return to dismiss him from all his employments, and
banish him out of the kingdom. The guai'dianship of Philip, and
his estates, then devolved to Wm. de Cantelupe, a powerful baron,
who being also guardian to the two daughters and coheirs of
Hugh deKilpeck, ofKilpeck-castle, co. Hereford, married Joan,
the youngest daughter to Philip Marmion, whose father was dead.
This Sir Philip Marmion was constituted, 53 Hen. 5, sheriff for

B B 2

the counties of Warw. and Leicest. ^vllicll office he held for three
years. In 67 Hen. 3, he attended the king into Gascony, and in
41 Hen. 5, was of an expedition then made into Wales. In 4^
Hen. 3, the defection of many of the barons having farther she^Yed
itself by their placing sheriffs in sundry shires of the realm, in usur-
pation of the king's authority, this Philip, in whose fidelity the
king reposed much confidence, had by a special patent, the coun-
ties of Sulfolk and iVorfoik committed to his custody, with the cas-
tles of Norwich, and Oxford. Soon after this, divers of the barons
having put themselves in arms to force the king's assent to those
unreasonable ordinances which they had made at Oxford, tend-
ing much to the diminution of his royal authority, the king was
necessitated to submit to the decision of the King of France, and
to bring in divers peers, and other eminent persons, to give oath
for his performance thereof, amongst whom this Philip was
one : who still strongly adhei-ing to his sovereign, attended him
with all the force he could raise at the taking of Northampton, the
ensuing year. He was with him likewise at the fatal batde of
Lewes, where the king was taken prisoner, and his whole army
lost. For his fidelity in these trying occasions, Marmion ob-
tained, 5o Hen. 3, after the king got again into power, a grant of
all the royal demesnes in Tamworth, and Wigginton, to hold
during his natural life, and was made governor of Kenilworth-
castle. He died 90 Edw. 1 , leaving four daughters coheiresses ;
three the issue of this marriage with Joan deKilpeck, and one by
]\Iaria, a 2d wife. Joan, the eldest, married Wm. Morlein, and died
without issue, 25 Edw. 1. Mazera, the second, married Ralph,
Lord Cromwell, and had an only daughter Joan, who inherited
great estates from Mamiion and Cromwell, which she brought in
marriage to Alexander, Baron de Frevile, as is related above.

Cromwell. Haldoenus was Lord of Cromwell, co. Notts, in
the time of Wilham the Conqueror. From him descended Ralph
de Cromwell, who was constituted, 5 Hen. 5, a justice itinerant

( 205 )

in the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham and Derby, and was
possessed of ig knights' fees. His son Ralph was engaged in di-
vers expeditions in Gascony, and Scotland, during the reign of
Edward I. He married ist, Margaret, one of the sisters and co-
heiresses of Roger de Someri, by whom he had no issue : adly,
Mazera Marmion, by whom he had an only child, Joan, above-
mentioned, the wife of Alexander, Baron deFrevile.

Strange of Blackmere. It is said, that at a just held at Castle
Peverell, in the Peak of Derbyshire, where among other persons
of note, Owen, Trince of Wales, and a son of the king of Scots,
were present ; there were also two sons of the Duke of Britany,
and that the younger of them, wliose name was Guy, remaining
in England, was called Guy Le Strange, (or the foreigner) from
whom all the different families of Strange are descended, (i) John
Le Strange, supposed to be the third son of this Guy, was she-
riff of Salop, and Staff. 18 John ; and held the castle of Knockyn,
CO. Salop. He died 11 Hen. 5. John his son and heir was also
sheriff of Salop and Staff, and one of the lords of the Marches in
Wales. He died 53 Hen. 5. This last-named John had two sons :
John, the eldest, was the head of the Stranges of Knockyn, which
line, 17 Edw. 4> ended in a daughter, Joanna, who by her
marriage with George, eldest son of Thomas Stanley, first Earl of
Derby, carried the barony of Strange to that family. Robert, thp
second son, by his marriage with Eleanor, one of the four sis-
ters and coheirs of William of Whitchurch in Shropshire, be-
came seizedof that manor, and died 4 Edw. i. John his son and
heir, was called Le Strange of Blackmere, from a large mere ad-
joining his manor-house of Whitchurch, so called from the
dark colour of its water. He died unmarried, and was succeeded
by Fulk his brother, who was summoned to parliament as a baron
of the realm, from •z to 1 7 Edw. 2, in which year he died. He mar-
ried Eleanoi', daughter and coheir of John GifTard of Brimsfield,

(i) Dug. Bar. vol. i. p. 663.

( 206 )

by jVIaud, witlow of Wm. Longespee,Earl of Salisbury, who was
daughter and coheir of Walter, Lord Clifford, of Clifford-castle,
CO. Hereford. John, the son of Fulk and Eleanor, married An-
karet, one of the daughters and coheirs of Wm. Boteler of
Wemme, and appears to have been the father of Maud, the wife
of Baldwin de Frevile. The line of Strange of Blackmcre, ended
7 Ric. 2, in a female, the grand daughter of John and Ankaret,
who was married to Sir Richard Talbot, Knt. Thus was the ba-
rony of Strange brought into the family of Talbot, till by the mar-
riage of Alithea, daughter, and at length sole heir of Gilbert,
seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, (who died in 1616) with Thomas
Howard, Earl of Arundell, it passed into the Howard family,
and hy the coheirs thereof, is in abeyance between the Lords
Stourton and Petre.

MoNTFORT. The family and name of Montfort were of French
origin. Robert L King of France, who died in io5o, had an
illegitimate son called Almaric, or Amaury, to whom he gave the
town of Montfort, which is still called Montfort-Amaury, and
from which Almaric assumed the sirname of De Montfort, which
he transmitted to his posterity. One of them, Hugh de Montfort,
accompanied William, Duke of Normandy, into England, and
fought by his side in the famous battle of Hastings. He was com-
monly called " Hugh with the beard ;" the Normans at that time
being generally shaved j and was afterwards appointed, with
Fitz-osborne, Earl of Hereford, and Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, to
administer justice through the whole kingdom. Hugh de Mont-
fort was amply rewarded for his services ; for he possessed in Kent,
Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, 1 14 lordships. He lost his life in a
duel with Walcheline de Ferrers, leaving issue Hugh, his son and
heir, who by his first wife had two sons, Robert and Hugh, who
both died without issue. Their father, who afterwards became
a monk in the abbey of Bee, in Normandy, had by a second wife,

( 207 )

a daughter, Alice de Montfort, who married Gilbert de Ghent,
Earl of Lincoln, nephew to Queen Matilda, wife of the Conque-
ror. This great earl is said to have had i54 lordships in England.
Gilbert and Alice had a son, called Hugh, who from his mother,
she being so gi-eat an heiress, assumed the sirname of Montfort.
This Hugh de Montfort married Adelina, daughter of Robert de
Bellomont, Earl of Mellent, and Leicester, by Elizabeth, daugh-
ter of Hugh, the great Earl of Vermandois, third son of Henry L
Kingof France, and grealgrandson of Hugh Capet. Helefttwo sons:
Robert, who died without issue, and Tliurstan, who built Belde-
sert-castle near Henly, co. Warvv., which continued to be the
chief seat of his descendants, for many generations, and after-
wai'ds devolved to the Aston family, being part of the portion of
Joyce de Frevile. His great grandson was the famous Peter de
Montfort, who for some years was in great favour with his sovC'
reign. King Henry IIL and was employed by him in many of-
fices of high trust, and emolument, both in peace and war. He
attended the king into France, and marched with Pi-ince Edward
into Wales ; and was made warden of the Marches, and governor
of several castles. But in 46 Hen. 5, being suspected of favour-
ing the rebellious barons, he was prohibited by the king from for-
tifying his castle of Beldesert. Nor were these suspicions ill-
founded : for no sooner had these powerful rebels assembled at
Oxford, than they forced the king's assent to their unreasonable
ordinances, and chose 24 persons, by whom the kingdom should
be governed. Among these 24, Peter shewed himself one of the
most forward ; for when all the rest of them, except himself and
four others, were content that those ordinances should be made
void, and the king restored to his former power, he joined with
the most violent of them in opposing it. The same year he was
in arms against the king atlNorthampton, and when the town was
stormed by the royalists, he fled to the castle ; but was forced

C 208 )

to surrender himself next day with his two sons, Peter and Robert,
who were all three sent prisoners to Windsor-castle. They did
not however remain long in confinement ■ for on the i4th of May
following, happened the fatal battle of Lewes ; where, owing to
the great eagerness of Prince Edward, in pursuing too far that
brigade of the barons' army which he had routed, the day was
lost, and the prince himself, the king, and many noble persons,
were made prisoners. Peter, and his two sons, w ere forthAvith set
at liberty. Shortly after this victory, the rebellious barons agreed
among themselves that nine persons should be selected to exer-
cise regal power. Peter de Montfort was one of these nine ; and
they constituted commissioners to the King of France and to the
Pope's Legate, to reform (as they termed it) and settle the king-
dom. In this commission there was a more special power given
to Peter de Montfort than to any of the rest j as it was declared that
whatsoever he should swear to do, the king must be obliged by
it. Besides these eminent trusts, he was constituted in Dec.
1264, governor of Whittington-castle in Shi'Opshire, and of
Hereford-castle. To this castle in May i265, the king and prince
were removed : and De Montfort issued a precept to Walter
Devereux, then sheriff of Herefordshire, for the delivery of the
revenues of that county to him, for better strengthening the cas-
tle : he obtained also for his own accommodation, a grant of
Prince Edward's apartments at Westminster.

Peter de JMoutfort was now arrived at the pinnacle of his great-
ness, which was however soon to be overthrown : for not many
days after. Prince Edward made his escape from Herefoi'd-castle,
*' like a sudden flash of lightning (saysDugdale) bi'eaking through
a cloud/' and raising a powerful army, fell like terrible thunder
on the principal force of the rebellious barons, then lying at
Evesham in Worcestei'shire, and obtained a complete victory.
Peter de Montfort, and divers of the principal actors in that tra-

( 209 )
gedj, were left dead on the field. By the decree called the
" Dictum of Kenilworth," the property of the Montforts was re-
stored to ihem ; and the greatest part of it afterwards devolved
to Elizabeth, great grand-daughter of Peter de Montfort, who
married Baldwin de Frevile.

Botetourt. John de Botetourt, 11 Edw. i, was admiral of
the fleet which conveyed that king into Gascony ; and was also
engaged in the wars of Scotland. He wedded Maud, sister and
heiress of Otto, son and heir of Beatrice de Beauchamp, and had
livery of the lands of her inheritance. In i3i2, 5 Edw. 2, he was
leagued with Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in seizing
Piers Gaverston, a measure which was soon followed by the exe-
cution of that favourite. He was again admiral of the fleet,
8 Edw. 2. He was summoned to parliament as Baron Bote-
toui't, from 1 Edw. 2, to his death. His son Thomas married
Joan, one of the sisters and coheiresses of John deSomery, Baron
of Dudley, whereby a great inheritance came to his posterity.
They had issue John, who married Joyce, heiress of Hugh de la
Zouch, of Ashby 5 by whom he had a son John, who died in his
father's life time, leaving Joyce, his only child, his heir, who mar-
ried Sir Hugh Burnell, Knt. but died without issue in i/|.o5.
The barony of Botetourt was then in abeyance between the sisters of
John, her father : of whom Joyce, the eldest, was wife of Sir
Baldwin de Frevile. In the last century, Charlotte, Baroness
Ferrers, (wife of George, Viscount Townshend) claimed the ba-
rony of Botetourt, as descended from Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Baldwin de Frevile ; but, having proved her descent before the
lords, she waved her right in favour of Norborne Berkeley, lineally
descended from the second sister of John de Botetourt. The
daughters of James 3 fifth Lord Aston, had also a right, as des-
cended Jrom Joyce, second daughter of Sir Baldwin de Frevile ;
but no claim being put in on their behalf, that of Norborne Berke-

Cc

\

( 2T0 )

ley was allowed, and in 1764, he was summoned to parliament as
Baron Botetourt. He died in i770without issue, when the barony
of Botetourt devolved to his sister, the Dowager Duchess of
Beaufort.

Bedford Barony. Hugh de Beauchamp came into England
wilh the Conqueror, who bestowed upon him 45 lordships in Bed-
fordshire, besides other lands elsewhere. His son Paganus, or
Pain, obtained from Wm. Rufus, the barony of Bedford. From
him descended William, who lived in the reign of Henry III.
and left three sons : Simon, whose only child Joan de Beauchamp
died without issue, and William and John, who died also with-
out issue. The three daughters of William, Maud, Ela, and
Beatrice, then became his heirs, and with their descendants the
barony of Bedford is in abeyance. These descendants are very
numerous. Maud, the daughter, and at length sole heiress of
Beatrice, married John de Botetourt, and their descendant Joyce,
daughter and coheiress of Sir John Botetourt, carried the claims
of Beatrice into the family of Frevile.

SoMERY. At the time of the Conqueror's sui-vey, Ralph Paga-
nell held 45 lordships in different counties in England. Fulk
Paganell, liis son and heir, possessed a great part of the lands of
Wm.Fitz-Ausculph, probably by marrying his daughter. This
William, in the time of the Conqueror, possessed gi lordships in
various counties, together with Dudley-castle, which was his
principal seat. Ralph Paganell, son of Fulk, was possessed of
Dudley-castle. He had a son Robert, and a daughter Hawise.
But Robert dying without issue, Hawise then became his heir.
She was first married to John de Somery, of the county of Cam-
bridge. Dudley, and other lands of great extent Avent to Ralph
de Somery, her son and heir. His heir Avas Roger his second
son, who married Amabil de Segrave, daughter and heiress of
Robert de Chaucumbe. Roger, their eldest son, had two sons,

(.11)

Roger and John, wlio died without issue ; and two daughters,
who thus became his heirs ; Margaret, wife of John de Sutton,
and Joan, wife of Thomas Botetourt.

Greene. Sir Henry Greene the elder, purchased Norton, near
Towcester, in Northamptonshire, 27 Edw. 3. For his great wis-
dom, abilities, and knowledge, he was advanced to the office of
lord chief justice of England, and with his large possessions in
Norlhamptoushire, left to his posterity one of the most considera-
ble estates of that age. — (Brydge's Northampton, vol. 2, p. 246.)
His grand daughter Joan, was wife of Sir Baldwin de Frevile, and
the mother of Jojce de Frevile, who married Sir Roger Aston.
The eldest branch of this family ended in Sir Thomas Greene,
Knt. who died 22 Hen. 7, and left two daughters and coheii'esses,
Anne, married to Lord Vaux of Harrowden • and Maud, wife to
Sir Thomas Parr, and mother of Queen Catharine Parr.

The arms of Greene are Azure, three stags tripping. Or.

Brereton. This veiy widely spreading family is to be traced to
Brereton in Cheshire, which manor was held by them under the
barony of Kindertou, nearly from the Conquest till the death of
Francis, Lord Brereton, in 1722, whose ancestor had been created
Lord Brereton of Leighlin, in Ireland, in 1624. From Randal, a
younger sonof SirWilliamBrereton, by Helen, heiress ofMalpas,
descended the Breretons of Malpas, extinct in 1611 ; and those of
Ashley, extinct in 1660 j from the Breretons ofMalpas, w^o
were also of Ipstones, in Staffordshire, descended the Breretons of
Eccleston, and Weteuhall ; those of Tatton, extinct about 1600,
those of Honford, extinct by the death of Sir Thomas Brereton,
Bart, in 1678, and several others. Sir William, younger son
of Sir Randal Brereton, of INIalpas, was groom of the chambers to
Queen Ann Boleyn ; and in 1 535, lost his life on the scaflbld for
supposed ci'iminality with his unhappy mistress. Sir Wm. Brere-
ton, knight of the shire for Cheshire, was appointed by the par-

c c 2

( 212 )

liament in 1643, to the command of their forces in that county,
and in June i644> was made Major-General of Cheshire. (1)

Draycot. Sir Roger Draycot, who inarried Joan ^ston, and
was a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, was descended from Sir
Philip Draicote, justice of Chester, 23 Hen. 3 ; whose ancestor Ni-
cholas, was Lord of Drajcot, in the i-eign of William the Conque-
ror. From Roger Draycot, and Joan Aston, descended Richai-d
Draycot of Painsley-hall, Esq. whose only daughter and heir
Frances, married Marmaduke, Lord Langdale, who died in 1718.
His son, the last Lord Langdale, died about 1777, without issue
male, when his three daughters became his heirs : Elizabeth, re-
lict of Robert Butler, Esq. of Ballyragget in Ireland, who has no
issue ; Mary, manned to Charles, late Lord Stourton, by whom
she had William, the present Lord Stourton, and many other
children ; and Apollonia, who married Hugh, fifth Lord Clifford
of Chudleigh, and died without issue.

Delves. John de Delves, was seated at Delves-hall near Uttoxe-
ter, CO. Stafford, 5i Edw. i. His son Richard was constable of
Heleigh-castle. Richard had two sons, John and Henry. John
was a knight of great renown, and one of the four esquires who
attended James, Lord Audley, at the battle of Poitiers, where
they performed prodigies of valour: of which an interesting ac-
count is given in Froissart's Chronicles. He died without issue,
II Ric. 2, 1587, and was succeeded by his brother Sir Henry,
whose son and heir Sir John Delves, 16 Rich. 2, was knight of the
shire for the county of Stafford, with Sir Thomas Aston. From
him descended Sir John Delves, Jather of Elizabeth, wife of
John Aston, Esq. He was a particular favourite of King Henry
VL , and repaying the king's attachment by the most faithful adhe-
rence, was slain when fighting bravely in his cause, at the battle

(i) Ljsons's Cheshire^ pp. 3^3, 4^'; 3of).

( 2i5 )
of Tewkesbury^ 1471- His son, with various persons of distinctiou,
sought refuge in the abbey, whither they were pursued by the fu-
rious King Edward, who with his drawn sword, endeavoured
to force his way into the church • but was refused admittance by
a resolute priest, till he had promised to pardon those who had
fled to the sanctuary. Depending on the king's word, they
neglected the means of escaping, and two days afterwai-ds, were
drawn out and beheaded by the command of the relentless mo-
narch. Sir Thomas Delves, the last male of the family, was
created a baronet. His daughter, and sole heir Elizabeth, about
the year 1710, married Sir Brian Broughton, Bart, and brought
Dodington and other estates into the family. From him is descend-
ed the present baronet Sir John Delves Broughton. The arms of
Delves are Argent, a chevron gules fretted Or, between 5 Dehes
sable. The chevron was part of the arms of Audley, given to
Sir John Delves, by Lord Audley, for his bravery at the battle of
Poitiers.

Bagot. This is a family of great antiquity, and appears to
have been settled at Bagot's Bromley, before the Conquest. In
the I'eign of Richard I. Harvey Bagot, a younger son, married
Milicent, sister and heir to Robert deStaflbrd; and taking the
name of Stafford, was the progenitor of the illustrious line of the
Barons and Earls of Stafford, and Dukes of Buckingham, now re-
presented by Sir George Jerningham, Bart. About the time of
Edward II. Sir Ralph Bagot, Knt. married Elizabeth, daughter
and heir of Richard, Lord of Blithfield, which has been ever since
the principal residence of the Bagots. Their grandson, Richard
Bagot, married Isabella, daughter o/Sir Robert Aston, Knt. from
whom the present Lord Bagot is descended. One of his ances-
toi's. Sir Harvey Bagot, Bart, was created a baronet 3 Car. 1 . (For
further particulars see CoUins's Peerage.)

BiDDULPH. Richard Biddulph, of Biddulph in Staffordshire,

( 2l4)

the husband of Petronilla Aston, was descended from Ormus,
Lord of Dadaston, in the reign of William the Conqueror. Francis,
their grandson, married Isabella, daughter to Sir Thomas Giffard
ofChillington,Knt. and built in the time of Queen Elizabeth, a fine
and stately house of stone atBiddulph. From them is descended
John Biddulph, of Burton in Sussex, Esq. who is still Lord of
Biddulph.

Basset of Blore. John Basset, who married Elizabeth Aston,
died wthout issue. He was descended from Thurstan Basset,
who came over with the Conqueror, whose son Ralph was chief
justice of England. His father William was sheriff of Stafford,
and6 Edw. 4»Diai'ried Joan, eldest daughter and coheir of Richard
Byron. Margery, his other daughter and coheir, was wife to
Thomas Walsh of Wanlip, co. Leicester, Esq. and their daugh-
ter Helen, the wife of Sir W illiam Littleton, Knt. was mother to
Joan Littleton, the wife of John Aston.

Blocnt of Burton. Thomas Blount of Burton, andBlounts'-
hall, near Uttoxeter, who married Catherine Aston, was des-
cended from John Blount, third son of Sir W. Blount, Knt. who
had lauds in Burton, andRolleston, lo Rich. 2. Edward Blount,
their grandson, died without issue, when his property reverted
to Elizabeth, daughter and heir to Walter Blount, younger
brother to Thomas. She married Thomas Pope, who took the
name of Blount. Their son, Sir Thomas Pope Blount, was the
founder of Trinity College, Oxford, where he and his wife, and
his mother Elizabeth, are interred: he died in i558. From
them descended Sir Thomas Pope Blount of Tittenhanger, co.
Herts, who published in 1690 a work much esteemed, entitled
" Censura Celebriorum Authorum." (1)

(i) Adam Blouut temp. Edw. i, and Hugo his son^gE. 1, were Lords of
Penkridge, co. Staff.

(215)

CoLWiCH. The ancestor of George Colwich, xv ho married a
sisterofJohn Aston, Esq. was seated there In the time of Richard I.
John de Colwich was witness to a deed 2.5 Edw. i . — (See Wolse-
ley above.) — Edward, the son of George, left Elizabeth, an only
daughter and heir, who married, i Philip and Mary, Peter Leices-
ter of Nether Tabley, CO. Chester, Esq. and brought him three
daughters and coheirs, who sold their estate at Colwich, to Sir
Robert Wolseley, Bart, about the year i654. — (Leicestei-'s Che-
shire, p. 558.) — Arms of Colwich : Argent, a Jess between^ rere
mice displajed^i sable.

Littleton. For an account of this family see noteF. p. i4o.

Px'incipal quarterings of Joan de Littleton, wife of Sir John de
Aston, Knt. : —

1 . Fitzwarine.

2. Dinant.

3. Somery. Or, two lions passant, argent.

4- Quatremains. Gules, a fess, azure, between 4 hands. Or,

5. Grey de Rolherfield.

6. Bardolph.

7. Hanselyn.

8. Warren and Surrey. Cheeky, or and azure,
g. Wirmgay.

10. Westcote. Argent, a bend cotized, sable, within a bor-
dure engrailed J gules bezantee.

11. Burley. Barry of six, sable, and or, on a chief of the se-
cond two pallets of the first, within an inescutcheon argent,
chai'gedwilh thi-eebars, gules.

12. Grendon. Argent, two chevrons, gules.

i3. Walsh. Gules, two bars gemells, and a bend, argent.

14. Wanlip.

i5. Waldeive. Or, three leopards' heads, sable.

16. Whitacre. Sable, three lozenges, argent.

(2i6)
jn. Byrou. Argent, three bendlets enhanced, gules.
18. Clayton.

ig. Banastre. Argent, a cross flory, sable, in fess point a
bezant.

20. Colewick.

2 1 . Peche. Gules, a fess between six cross crosslets, argent.

22. Hayward.

23. Huntingfield. Or, a fess gules, between 5 torleauxes,
argent.

24. Arden. Ermine, a fess chequy, or, and azure.

25. Walsh of Wormleighton. Argent, a fess between 6 mart-
lets, sable.

26. Littleton. Argent, a chevron between three escallops,
sable.

Welsh. The family of Welsh, in old deeds called Wallis, or
Waleys, was of great antiquity in Leicestershire ; and the name is
to be found among those recorded to have come into England
with the Conqueror. Roger de Waleys, married the daughter and
heix'ess of Henry de Wanlip, a manor about 3 miles from Leices-
ter, which after this marriage, became the seat of the Welshes.
Their son was styled Sir William Waleys of Wanlip, Knt. and
flourished there 7 Edw. i . His descendant Richard Welsh, mar-
ried II Hen. 6, i453, Eleanor, daughter and coheiress of Alan
Waldeive, Esq. by Joanna, daughter and heiress of Richard
Whitacre, Esq. Alan Waldeive had a seat near Meriden, called
Alspath-hall, where his ancestors were seated before the reign of
Edward L By this marriage it devolved to the Welshes, and got
the name of Welsh-hall. Sir Thomas Welsh, sou of Richard and
Eleanora, married Margery, daughter and coheir of Sir Richard
Byron. Their daughter Helen married Sir Wm. Lytlelton,
whose daughter Joan was wedded to Sir John Aston of Haj-

( 217 )

wood, and brought Tixall and TVanlip into the Aston family.
Sir Thomas Welsh died in i493-

Byron. A family of Norman extraction, which came over
with William .the Conqueror. The branch which remained in
France attained the highest rank of nobility in that country.
Ralph de Buron, temp. W. Conq. held divers manors in Derby-
shire and Notts ; Robert, his great grandson, married Cecilia,
daughter and heiress of Peter Clayton of Clayton, co. Lancaster,
which became the residence of the Byrons. Sir John, their
great grandson, married Alice, cousin and heir of Robert Ba-
nastre, of Hyndley, co. Lancashire, Knt. ; and died 12 Edvv. 2.
His descendant, Sir Richard Byron, married Joan, sister and hei-
ress of Thomas de Colewick, co. Notts. This Joan was a great
heiress, and brought a considerable estate to the Byrons ; her fa-
ther having married Joan, daughter and heiress of Sir John
Peche, by his wife Alice, daughter and heiress of SirW. Hay-
ward, Knt. by Joan his wife, daughter and coheiress of Sir Saier
de Huntlnglield. Sir John Peche, was the son of Richard Peche
andofHawise, daughter and coheiress of Wm. de Arden. Sir
Richard Byron had by Joan de Colewick an only son, who
married Margery, daughter of Sir John Booth of Barton, by
whom he had three sons : Richard, Nicholas, ancestor to the
present Lord Byi'on, the celebrated poet, and Ralph. Richard,
the eldest son, married Lucy, sister of Sir Thomas Ashton, Knt.
by whom he had a son, James, who died without issue, and a
daughter Margery, who became his heir, and married first, Wil-
liam Leke, Esq. J and secondly, Thomas Welsh of Wanlip, Esq.

Stapleton. a family of great note, which has long I'esided
at Carleton, near Snaith, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its
present worthy representative has lately proved his claim to the
barony of Beaumont.

CuRzoN. Robert de Curzon came over with the Conqueror,

D D

( 2l8 )

His grandson Piichard, was seated at Croxall, co. Stafford, and
had two sons, Robert, and Thomas, the ancestor of Lord Scars-
dale, and of Viscount Curzon of Hagley. From Robert descended
Thomas Curzon, the husband of Aniie Aston, bywhomhehad
issue three daughters. Sir George Curzon, Knt. grandson of
Thomas Curzon, by a second wife, married Mary, sister and hei-
ress of Sir William Leveson of Lilleshull. Their only child and
heir Mary, married Edward Sackvillcj Earl of Dorset, whose
celebrated duel with Lord Bruce in 161 3, is recorded in the Guar-
dian. From them is lineally descended the present Duke of
Dorset.

Erdeswick. This family resided at Sandon in Staffordshire,
for many generations. Hugh, who married Helen Aston, ytSiS
great uncle to Sampson Erdeswick, the antiquary. Richard, son
of Sampson, sold Sandon to George Digby, his half brother,
whose only daughter and heiress Jane, brought it in marriage to
Charles, Lord Gerard of Gerard's Bromley. His son Digby,
Lord Gerard, left it to his only daughter and heir, who married
William, Duke of Hamilton, (killed in a duel 1712). The pre-
sent Duke of Hamilton, grandson to this William, sold it in 1777,
to the late Lord Harrowby, since which, it is become one of the
most delightful demesnes in the county of Stafford.

BoLLES. Penho-castle in Monmouthshire, was long the resi-
dence of this family. It was the ancient seat of the Seymours.
Bolles bore the arms of Seymour, and probably got the property
by marrying an heiress of that family.

Lawley. In lyEdw. 4- Thomas Lawley inherited the estates
of John, Lord Wenlock, K. G. Richard, grandson of Thomas,
was the father of Elizabeth, who married Antony Aston. Her
mother was the daughter and heiress of Edmund Rugeley, Esq.
Thomas, grandson of Richard, was created a baronet in 164^^
from whom the present Sir Robert Lawley, Bart, is descended.

( 219 )

Gresley. Roger de Toeni, hereditary standard-bearer of Nor-
mandy, had three sons, Ralph, Robert^ and Nigel, who were re-
lated to William the Conqueror, and accompanied him in his ex-
pedition into England. Ralph was grandfather to Margaret de
Toeni, heiress of Clifford- castle, co. Hereford: who married
Walter Fitz-Ponts, a Norman baron, and was the progenitrix of
all the families in England of the name of Cliftbrd : her husband
Fitz-Ponts, being the first who ever bore the name. Robert, who
was seated alStaiford-casde, and took the name of De Stafford,
was the ancestor of the illustrious house of Stafford : Nigel, as
appears from Domesday-book, held Drakelow in Derbyshire,
which is the principal seat of the Gresleys to this day j and from
him the present baronet is lineally descended. Sir Wni. Gresley,
Knt. husband of Catherine Aston, was father to Sir George, the
first baronet, created in 1611.

Harcourt. This ancient and illustrious family is descended
from Bernard, a nobleman of the blood royal of Saxony, who
being born in Denmark, was surnamed the Dane. He was chief
counsellor, and second in command to the famous Rollo, in his
descent upon Normandyj in 8765 and when Rollo made himself
master of that country, Bernard obtained Harcourt, and other
lordships, in return for his eminent services. Robert his great
grandson, attended William, Duke of Normandy into England,
in 1066. Robert de Harcourt, grandson of the aforesaid Robert,
inherited the Norman possessions of the family j and was ances-
tor to the Duke d'Harcourt, and other families in France. Ivo,
brother of Robert, inherited all his father's estates in England.
He was ancestor to Sir Simon Harcourt, who married Marj As-
ton. Their grandson, Robert Harcourt, accompanied Sir W.
Raleigh, in his expedition to Guiana, in 1609, and in i6i3 pub-
lished an account of his voyage. His son. Sir Simon, signalized
himself in the Low Countries, against the Spaniards ; and in 1641 ,

D D 2

( 220 )

was made governor of Dublin, and was killed in defending it
against the rebels. Sir Simon, son of the last, was successively
solicitor and attorney-general, and lord keeper of the great seal :
and in 1711, was created Baron Harcourt. In 1712, he was ap-
pointed lord high chancellor of Great Britain, and in 1721, was
advanced to the dignity of viscount. His grandson, Simon, Vis-
count Harcourt, in 1 749 was created Earl Harcourt, and in 1 761 ,
was appointed governor to his present majesty. In 1761, he was
sent ambassador to Strelitz, to demand the Princess Charlotte,
and accompanied her to England. He was afterwai'ds sent am-
bassador to the court of France, and then made lord lieutenant of
Ireland. He was unfortunately drowned in his own park at
Nuneham, in 1777.

Needham. Ptobert J!ieedha.m, hushcmd o/' Frances Aston, was
ofShenlon, co. Salop, where that family had long been seated.
They had issvie two sons and four daughters : Sir Robert the
eldest son, was created Viscount Kilmorey of the kingdom of
Ireland ; and from him the present viscount is lineally descended.
Maud, the eldest daughter, was married to John Aston, Esq. of
Aston in Cheshire, and their son Sir Thomas was created a ba-
ronet in 1628. In the civil wars he was taken prisoner in a skir-
mish, and carried to Stafford, where he died of his wounds in
1645. He wrote some pieces against the Presbyterians, and was
the chief man in his county that took part with the king, for whose
service he x-aised a troop of horse.

Leveson. The first of this family upon record is Richard Le-
veson, who was seated at Willenhall in Staffordshire, 27 Edw. 1 .
From him descended Richard Leveson of Prestwood, Esq.
who had three sons : 1. John, o. s. p. 2. Nicholas was Lord
Mayor of London, and died in i53g. 5. James. John, great
grandson of Nicholas, died without issue male • but left two
daughters : Christian, who married Sir Peter Temple of Stow,

( 221 )

Bart, and Frances, the wife of Sir Thomas Gower, Bart, who in-
herited Lilleshull and Trentham. From these two females
spring at least 520 peersj or lieirs apparent of peers, of Great
Britain. James Leveson, younger brother of Nicholas, the lord
mayor, was a rich merchant of the staple, and had property at
Wolverhampton and Lilleshull. By his lirst wife he had a daugh-
ter Mary, wife of Sir George Curzon of Croxall, who became his
Jheir. From her descended the Duke of Dorset, Viscount Sack-
ville, and the Earl of Thanet. By a second wife, James Leveson
had two daughters: Elizabeth married to Sir JValter ^stoii ;
and Joyce to Sir John GifFard of Chillington, Knt.

Crompton. William Crompton, a rich mercer of London, at
the dissolution of monastei'ies, purchased 3o Hen. 8, the scite of
Stone Priory, with the demesnes thereunto belonging, and the
deanery of Staflbrd. It is remarked by Sir Simon Degge, that
it did him no good ; and the family appears to be now extinct.
His son William, who married Jane Aston^ was sheriff of Staf-
ford 59 Eliz. and died /^iac. 1. A grandson of theirs, Thomas
Crompton, appears to have settled at Moreton, near Colwich.
In 1659, he granted a piece of land lying at Reveing-hill, near
Rugeley, worth 5/. 4s- per ann. to the parish of Colwich, with
an intent that 24 loaves should be distributed to 24 poor persons,
every Sunday after divine service, from that day till the end of
the world.

Peyto. William Peyto, who married Elizabeth ^ston, was
seated at Chesterton, co. Warw., and was descended from
Richard de Peyto, or De Pictavia, (Poitou) who is stated to have
possessed lands at Drayton near Stratford, temp. Edw. 1. His an-
cestor was probably one of the Poitevin noblemen brought over
by King John, to the great displeasure of his English subjects.
This family ended in a female, and is now represented by Lord
Verney, who bears the name of Peyto-Verney.

( 222 )

Fielding. It appears from ancient records that GeoflVcv.
Count of Hapsburg, Lord of Lautlenberg, and Pihinfelden, iu
Germany, being oppi'essed by his relation Rodolph de Hapsburg,
afterwards Emperor of Germany, and founder of the house of
Austria, was reduced to extreme poverty j when one of his sons,
called also Geoflrey, came over to England, and served King
Henry III. in his wars ; and from his father's lordship of Rhin-
felden took the name of Felden or Fielding j and it further ap-
pears that King Henry, in consideration of his great extraction,
granted him considerable estates. — (Dugd. Warw.)

Basil Fielding, the eleventh in descent from GeoflVey, married
Elizabeth Aston. William, their eldest son, was knighted by
King James I. at Belvoir-castle, on his first entrance into England
in i6o5, and was afterwards made Gustos Rotulorum of the
county of Warwick. In 18 Jac. 1, he was created a baron_, by
the title of Lord Fielding, and afterwards viscount : and in
20 Jac. I, Earl of Denbigh. Firmly adhering to Charles I.
during the civil war, he performed the part of a valiant soldier,
in sundrv engagements ; but in a sharp skirmish with the enemy,
near Birmingham, in 1643, he received several mortal wounds,
of which he died a few days after.— (Dugd. Warw. Clarendon's
jjist.) — He married a sister of the celebrated George Villiers,
Duke of Buckingham, by whom he had two sons and four
daughters.

Basil, his eldest son, second Earl of Denbigh, was four times
married, but died without issue male, in 1675. His first wife was
daughter of Richard, Earl of Portland, and sister to the second
Lady Aston.

George, second son of the first Earl of Denbigh, was created
20 Jac. 1, Baron Fielding and Viscount Callau, iu Ireland; also
Earl of Desmond in reversion. He died in i665.

William, his eldest son, succeeded as Earl of Desmond, and on

( 223 )

the death of his uncle Basil in 1675^ he succeeded also to the
earldom of Denbigh, and from him the present earl is lineally
descended.

From John, the yoimgest son of George, Earl of Desmond,
was descended Sir John Fielding, the celebrated justice of Bow-
street, and his brother Henry Fielding, the author of " Tom
Jones."

Lucy. The family of Lucy is of very ancient and illustrious
extraction, being descended from Thurstan de Charlecote, se-
cond son of Thurstan, Baron Montfort, of Beldesert-castle, of
whom some account has already been given. It is also re-
markable for its noble alliances : among others, Sir William
Lucy, Knt. who died 16 Edw. 4> married Elizabeth, daughter to
Reginald, Lord Grey de Ruthven, who was descended from the
Lords Astley, Strange of Blackmere, Hastings, Basset of Dray-
ton, Longchamp of Wilton-castle, Bardolf, etc. The Lucies were
seated at Charlecoie, from the time of KingRichai'd I. Walter
first Lord Aston, was born there. It was Sir Thomas Lucy,
father of Lady Aston, who threatened Shatspeare with a prose-
cution for deer-stealing in his park, which compelled him to go
to London, and attach himself to the theatre.

Thimelby. This family was seated at Pelham, co. Line, in the
reign of Edward III. By the marriage of Richard Thimelby with
the heiress of Sir Andrew Lutterell, Knt. towards the end of the
l5th century, they acquired the parish of Irnham, (which was af-
terwards their principal residence) and a claim to the barony of
Lutterell. In iG34> Elizabeth, sister of Sir John Thimelby, Knt.
married R.ichard Conquest, of Houghton-Conquest, co. Bedford.
John Thimelby, son and heir of Sir John, had two sons who died
infants, and an only daughter married to Thomas GifFard, Esq.
of Chillingtouj who died without issue, when the property of
Irnham devolved to the Conquests. Benedict Conquest of Iru-

( 224 )

ham, Esq. who died in 1763, left an only daughter Mary, who be-
came his heir, his son Benedict having died at the age of 20. She
married Lord Arundell of Wardour, by whom she had no male
issue, but two daughters : Mary, who married her cousin, the late
Lord Arundell, and Eleanora, the wife of Lord ClitTord of Ug-
brook. Irnham is now the property of Lady Clitlord.

Persall. a family of note and antiquity. SirWm. Persall,
who married Frances Aston, was second son of Sir John Persall
of Horseley, created a baronet in 161 5. He was descended from
Sir Pv, Swiunerton de Persall, Knt. who was thrice sheriff of the
county of Stafford in the reign of Edward lU. Sir William resided
at Canwell in Staffordshire. His first wife was Mary Thimelby, sis-
ter to Henry Thimelby, husband of Gertrude Aston, and to Cathe-
rine Thimelby, the wife of Herbert Aston. He had no male issue,
and Sir Thomas Persall, the fourth baronet, Avas the last of the fa-
mily. His daughter Frances mai-ried Thomas Ireland of Shrop-
shire, Esq.

Weston. Sir Richard Weston , Knt . father of Mary, Lady As-
ton, Avas descended irom Haleri, Lord of Weston, in the reign
pf Henry L in that district of Lincolnshire called Holland.
Being a person of great abilities, he was sent in i6ig, ambas-
sador with Sir Edward Conway into Bohemia, to close up the
])reach betAveen the Emperor, and the Elector I'alatine, son in law
of King James L and the ensuing year was dispatched to Brux-
elles, there to treat with the embassy of the Emperor and the
King of Spain, touching the restitution of the Palatinate. He
was afterwards appointed chancellor, and under-treasurer of
the exchequer. He discharged this oftice Avith so much
Avisdom and integrity, that in 22 Jac. a. he had a commis-
sion to execute the office of treasurer of the exchequer dur-
ing the lung's pleasure. He was created a baron 4 Car. i, by

( 225 )

the title of Lord Weston of JXeyland in Suflblls, and the same year
was appointed lord high treasurer : in 6 Car. i , he was chosen a
Knight of the Garter, and in February following, was made cap-
tain of the Isle of Wight. In 8 Car. i, he was ci-eated Earl of
Portland, and dying in i654 at Wallingford-house, inWestmin-
ster, was buried at Winchester. At his death, by the king's com-
mand, the whole court went into mourning forone day. — (Thane's
Autographs, v. 2.) — By his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Wm.
Pincheon, Esq. of Writtle, co. Essex, he had a son, who died uu-
mari-ied, and two daughters : Elizabeth married to Sir JohnNet-
terville, Kut. son and heir of JXicholas, Viscount Netterville, and
Mary, Lady Aston. By his second wife, he had thi'ee sons and
four daughters. His three sons and his grandson inherited suc-
cessively his honours, but dying without male issue, the title be
came extinct.

Gage. A family, says Camden, of great note. It is proba-
bly of foreign extraction. Sir John Gage was created a baronet
in 1622. He married Penelope, grand-daughter and coheiress of
Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengreave, co. Suftblk, Knt. who brought
the Hengreave estate into the Gage family. Sir Thomas Gage, his
eldest son, second baronet, was grand-father to William, Viscount
Gage. Hengreave went to Edward, third son of Sir John, who
was created a baronet in 1622. His grandson, Sir John Gage^
married Elizabeth, daughter and sole heir of Thomas Rookwood
of Coldham, co. Suifolk, Esq. His son, Sir Thomas Rookwood
Gage, had one son and three daughters. The son had by his first
wife, Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Fitzherbert of Swinnerion,
Esq. four sons. The eldest, Sir Thomas, the present baronet,
married Lady Mary Anne Browne, daughter of the Earl ot Ken-
mare: his nextbrolber, who took the name and inherited the estate
of RookAvood, married Miss O'Donnel of the kingdom of Ireland.
Sir Edward Gage above-mentioned, was the husband oi Frances,

E E

( 226 )

daughter of Waller, second Lord Astoiiy who gave her his es-
tate at Packinglon, near Lichfield, for her portion : she was his
second wife, and had one son, Francis, of whom she died in child-
bed ; he inherited Packinglon, and married Elizabeth, daughter
and sole heiress of John Dcvereux, Esq. of the island of Montse-
rat. He died in i -yag, leaving one son, Devereux.

SoDTHCOTE. Originally from Southcot, co. Devon. Michael
de Southcot was settled there 27 Hen. 5. From him descended
John Soulhcote, who was a judge of the King's Bench in i562.
He had an estate at Wilham in Essex, and was there burled in
i585. His grandson Sir John Southcot, Knt. married Eliza-
beth ylstoii, and resided at Albery, near Merstham, co. Surrey.
The last male of the family was Philip Southcot, grandson of Sir
John and Elizabeth Aston, who lived at Woburu Farm, co. Surrey.
A branch of this family was settled for many generations at Cal-
verleigh in Devonshii'e, now the seat of Charles Chichester, Esq.

Somerset. Henry Somerset, of Pentley Court, co. Gloucester,
husband of Anne Aston, was eldest son of Sir John Somerset,
Knt. second son of the renowned Marquis of Worcester, whose
grandson in 1682 was created Duke of Beaufort. They had issue
one daughter who was a nun ; and one son, Edward Maria, who
married two wives, Clare and Anne, sisters ; the daughters of
Charles Calvert, Loi'd Baltimore; but he died without issue in
1711.

Ogle. This family is of great antiquity in Northumberland.
In i5Edw. 3, Robert de Oggle obtained licence to make a cas-
tle of his manor house at Oggle. His descendant. Sir Robert
Ogle, Knt. 1 Edw. 4, was summoned to parliament as a baron
of the realm. Cuthbert, last Lord Ogle, died BgEliz., leaving
issue two daughters his heirs : Joan married to Edward Talbot, a
younger son of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, but who died with-
out issue ; whereupon Catherine, her youngest sister, became

( 227 )

sole heir. She was wife to Sir Charles Cavendish, Knt. of Wel-
beck, CO. Notts J and in 1629, took the title of Baroness Ogle, of
Ogle CO. Northumberland. From Thomas^ the younger brother
of Culhbertj probably descended Elizabeth Ogle, wife of Thomas
Aston.

Blount. This ancient family is said to take its rise from the
Blondi, or Biondi in Italy, and they, from the Roman Flavii,
both so called from their fair hair. Le Blond, Lord of Guiues in
France, had three sons, who came over with the Conqueror.
One returned into France 5 the other two. Sir Robert and Sir
William, were the progenitors of all the Bloujits in England .
Sir Robert was created by the Conqueror Baron of Icksworlh in
Suffolk 5 in which county he had 1 5 lordships. He was entitled,
Dux manuum militarium . Sir William, his brother, was ge-
neral of the foot to the Conqueror j had six lordships in Lin-
colnshire. From Sir Robert descended Gilbert, Baron of Icks-
worth, who had two sons, William and Stephen. William had
a son William, who was slain at the battle of Lewes 1264, and
was the last Baron of Icksworth. Sir Stephen Blount, his uncle,
niai'ried Maria, sole daughter and heiress of Sir Wm. Le Blound,
of Saxlingham in Suffolk j who was gi-eat grandson of the first
Sir William that came over with the Conqueror. Sir William,
grandson of Stephen, was sheriff of Rutlandshire 28 and 35
Edw. 1, 1507. He had three sons : from Sir Thomas LeBlound,
the second sou, who was steward of the household to Edward II.
descend the Blounts of Maple-Durham, near Reading in Berk-
sihre. Of the third son there is no record. Possiblyhe might be
that David le Blound, w ho was seated at Bitton near Bath, in the
reign of Edward II. where his family remained above 200 years.
(See Atkyn's Gloucestershire). Sir Walter, of Rock in Worcester-
shire, eldest son of Sir William, married Joan, daughter and heiress
of Sir W- de Sodington, which place remained the seat of the fa-

E E 2

( 228 )

roily till about the middle of the last century. Sir John Blount,
son of SirAV^alter, married Isolda, daughter and heiress of Tho-
mas, Lord Mouijoye. Sir Thomas Blouut, his eldest son, ad-
hering to his lawful sovereign. King Richard II. Avas executed
for high treason i Hen. 4, iSc.g. Sir Walter Blount, whom John
of Gaunt appointed one of his executors, with a legacy of 100
marts, was possibly brother of this Sir Thomas, and the hero,
who was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury in i4o5, whose valour
is so highly celebrated by Shakespeare. Sir Walter Blount, son
of Sir Thomas, was treasurer of Calais, and afterwards of Eng-
land, and was created Lord Montjoy in i465. He married Anne,
Duchess of Buckingham. His descendant Charles, Loi'd Mont-
joy, was an admiral, and knight of the Garter, and was created
Earl of Devonshire. He died in 1606, leaving no male issue, but
a natural son, who was created Lord Montjoy, Earl of PVewport.
His grandson Henry, fifth and last Earl of Newport, died in
iG'jg, without issue. Sir John Blount, second son of Sir John
and Isolda, above-mentioned, was ancestor by a second wife, the
daughter and heir of Sir B. Cornwall of Kinlet, Knt. of the
Blounts of Kinlet, Eye, Kidderminster, Orleton, etc. From him,
by his first wife, descended Sir Walter Blount, who was created a
baronet 18 Car. 1. He was a great suflferer for that king, and was
long imprisoned j first at Oxford, then in the tow er of London ;
his brothers, and four of his sons, were all in the same service.
His eldest daughter Eleanor, who married Waller Aston, Esq.
afterwards third Lord Aston, diedini674> before her husband
came to the title. The present Sir Edward Blount, of Mawley and
Soddington, co. Wore, is the grandson of Sir Waller Blount, who
married Mary, eldest daughter and coheiress of James, fiiih Lord
Aston.

Howard. "4 A full account of these two illustrious families,

jwhic

Talbot. j which are nearly connected, is given in Collins's

( 229)

Peerage. Sir Robert Howard, created Duke of Norfolk in i483,
was descended by his mother from Thomas de Brotherton, Earl
of Norfolk, eldest son of King Edward I. by his second wife Mar-
garet of France. Thomas, fourth Duke of Norfolk, married
Mary, daughter and coheiress of Henry, Earl of Arundell, who
inherited Arundell-castle. His grandson Thomas, Earl of Arun-
dell and Norfolk, married Alethea, daughter, and at length sole
heir to Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury; and acquired by this
marriage Worksop Manor, and great estates in Yorkshire and
Notts. Bernard Howard, the present Duke of Norfolk, is des-
cended from Bernard, eighth son of Henry, Earl of Arundell,
who died in i656. The Lords Stourton and Petre are now the
representatives and heirs general of the Lady Alethea Talbot, and
Thomas, Earl of Arundell, being descended from the two daugh-
ters and coheiresses of the Honourable Philip Howard, who was
youngest brother to Lady Aston, and to Thomas and Henry,
eighth and ninth Dukes of Norfolk.

Charles Talbot, the present of Earl of Shrewsbury, is nephew to
Barbara, Lady Aston, and is descended from Sir Gilbert Talbot,
K. G. second son of John, second Earl of Shrewsbury. The title
came into that line, by the death of Edward, eighth Earl of
Shrewsbury, without issue, in 1617. Charles, twelfth Earl of
Shrewsbury, was created Marquis of Alton, and Duke of Shrews-
bury ; but died in 1 7 1 8 without issue.

( 23o )

No. VI,

MEMORIALS

ASTON FAMILY.

I have not met with a more noble family, measuring on the level
of flat and unadvantaged antiquity. They have ever borne a good
respect to the church, and to learned men.

Fuller's '' AVorthies."

There are many places in England of the name of Aston, which
were probably so called from their relative situation to some
other place of greater consequence. For, as Weston, Norton,
and Sutton, are derived from ^yest-to^vn, North-town, and South-
town, so Aston or Eston, as it was sometimes written, is derived
from East-town ; all these places having been so called from
their relative situation to one more considerable than themselvs.

It seems probable, that the Astons of Haywood and Tixall,
(who were seated at the former place before the middle of the
]5th century) were a branch of the Astons, of Aston in Cheshire ;
a distinguished family, which has resided on the same spot, at

least from the time of Edward the Confessor, (i) It is now repre-
sented by Sir Willoughby Aston, Bart.

" Of this ancient family" says Wotton, " was Hudard, or
Odard, in the time of Edward the Confessor, or prior to that, and
styled, Hudard de East-town, lord of the manor of East-town,
since called Aston ; from which place this family was denominated.
They are mentioned in Domesday-book to be possessors of land
in this county." (2)

Besides other reasons for believing that the Astons of Hay-
wood were descended, from those of Cheshire, I find that the
same Christian names occur in the pedigrees of the earlier branches
of both families, a circumstance much relied on by genealo-
gists ; and moreover, that the colours blazoned in their arms are
the same, though the bearings are different ; the ai'ms of Aston of
Cheshire, being sable and argent, party per chevron, those of
Aston of Tixall, argent, a fess, three lozenges in chief sable.
This circumstance of similar colours, and different bearings, is
not at all uncommon in the various branches of many ancient fa-
milies. But whatever may have been the origin of the Astons of
Haywood and Tixall, in the county of Stafford, it is certain^ that
they soon rose to great eminence on account of their extensive
possessions and splendid alliances ; they were always distin-
guished for their love of arms and letters ; and among other an-
cient authors, they are mentioned in veiy honourable terms by
Camden, Drayton, and Fuller.

Roger de Aston, the first of the family who is known to have re-
sided at Haywood, was a yoimger son of Ralph de Aston or
Eston, in the county of Stafford; (3) and it is probable that his

(i) Sir Pet. Leycester's Autiq. of Cheshire, p. 208. Beetham's Baronet.

(2) Wottou's Baronet.

(3) Loxdale, Paroch. Antlq. of Staff. MS. penes March, de Buckingham.
Evid. at Tixall. Chetwynd MSS.

( 25 a)
elder brother was that John de Eston, whose name occurs among
the rebellious barons who maintained Kenilworth-castle, in War^
wickshire, against Henry III. in the year 1266, till they were
compelled by famine and sickness to surrender. (1) If we may
form a judgment of him by those with whom he was then as-
sociated, he must have been a person of considerable consequence.

In or about the year 1291, 19 Edw. i, Roger de Molend,
Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, granted to this Pvoger de
Aston, several estates at Haywood and Longdon, in the county
of Stafford, together with the mastership of the game in Can-
nock Wood, to him and his heirs for ever. In the original deed,
which is in Latin, it is expi'essed, that these grants were made
by the bishop Rogero de Aston, Valetto suo. To form a pro-
per opinion of the rank and condition of Roger de Aston, we
must now consider the meaning of this expression Valetto suo.
The word J^aletlus is thus defined by Ducange in his Glossary :
Magnatis filiiis, qui notidum militare cingulum eral consecu-
lus : the son of a nobleman who had not yet been girt with the
sword of knighthood ; and he also observes, that the term t^as-
salus is to be taken in those early times, as the equivalent of
miles or knight; and vcdettus is to be construed quasi vassalettus,
the diminutive of t-c^JiTz/iW, and meaning a little or half-knight.

An new edition of the " History of the Empire of Constanti-
nople," by Ville-Hai'duin, was published by Ducange; and in
the Glossary to that work, p. 187, he says, " In addition to the
remarks which I have made in my notes on Ville-Harduiu, I must
observe, that it seems that the third figure in the game of cards
called the Valet, (Knave) represents the son of the king and queen,
and their principal heir. For Ville-Harduin clearly shews, that
in his time the prince and successor to the empire was so called,

(i) Dugd. Warw. by Thomas, p. 247.

( 253 )
and that it by no means meant a servant or laqiiais, as is falsely
supposed." For this meaning of the word valettus we have also
the authority of Selden, who says, " The young heirs that we're
to be knighted, and so in the next degree to a knight, were
comprehended under the title of valetti; and valet was anciently
with us, as in France also, a name specially denoting young
gentlemen, though of great descent and quality, (i) St. Palaye,
in his interesting "Memoirs of Ancient Chivalry," states three
degrees, through which, a young man intended for the military
profession, ordinarily passed. He was first, a page, second, an
esquire, third, a knight : valettus, armiger, miles. It is to the
first of these titles, the page, that the term valettus strictly ap-
plies. (2) In confirmation of those testimonies in favour of the
honourable meaning of the word valet in ancient days, it may be
proper to add, that in a document preserved by Rymer, which
records a grant from King Edward III. to Chaucer, the poet is
styled dilectus valettus noster. This grant of King Edward to
Chaucer, was dated about a century after that of Roger de Mo-
lend to Roger de Aston, but at a period when the institutions of
chivalry were still in their highest vigour and splendour.

It is well known that in the feudal times, and down to the pe-
riod of the Reformation, the bishop's palace was much resorted
to by young noblemen, as a place of education. Cardinal Wol-
sey had several under his roof, who were even accustomed to
wait upon him like servants. (3) The bishops, moreover, being
always considered as feudal lords, and barons of the realm,
had generally about them the same train of military attendants as
the temporal peers 3 they were accompanied in the same manner.

(i) Till, of Hon. Part 2, chap. 5, p. 83 1.

(2) Tom. I, part 1.

(3) Hume, Hist. Hen. 8, chap. 38.

( ^-^4 )

by their pages, esquires, and knighls. We may therefore safely
conclude, that Roger de Aston was a young gentleman of noble
birlh, who being educated in the palace of the Bishop of Lich-
field, became his favourite page, and the heir of a considei'able
part of his property.

And here we may pause a moment, to obseiTC the strange alte-
rations which lime and custom will effect in the signification of
words. The term valet, wliich was formerly a title of honour,
and appropriated to young noblemen of the first rank, is now
come to mean nothing but a nobleman's private servant ; and in
like manner, the word knave, which from the German knab,
originally signified a boy, a lad, and afterwards a servant, is now a
rogue, or scoundrel. So true is the remark of Horace :
Malta renascentur quae jam cecidere, cadentque
Quae nuQC sunt in honore vocabula, si volet usus,
Qucm penes arbitrium est^ et jus et norma loquendi. (i)

The estate of Haywood, and the mastership of the game in
Cannock Wood, thus bestowed on Roger de Aston, by the Bishop
of Lichfield, have continued with his descendants, though with
some vicissitudes, down to the present day j but the property at
Longdon devolved to a younger branch, and in the reign of
Henry V. was carried by an heiress into another family. Some
remains of the ancient residence at Haywood are still visible, and
form part of a large malt-house, in which on the third of June
1806, nearly 700 persons were regaled with an ox roasted whole,
and a plentiful entertainment, in honour of the birth of Thomas
Aston Clifibrd, son and heir of Sir Thomas Clifibrd, Bart, grand-
son of James, fifth Lord Aston, and the present possessor of
the estates of Haywood and Tixall.

(1) l>e Art. Poet.

( 235 )

" In my memory," says Pennant, "the old seat was in pos-
session of the Whitbys, but it has since been reunited to the house
of Tixall, by purchase : the barn belonging to the manor-house at
Haywood, was of a most magniliccut size, but of late has been
greatly reduced" (i)

It will not be unacceptable to the curious reader to find in this
place, some information respecting Roger de Molend, the muni-
ficent benefactor of Roger de Aston. Roger de Molend, alias
Longespee, was the third son of William Longespee, and Ela,
daughter and heiress of William Fitz-Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. (2)
William Longespee his father, was the natural son of Henry II.
and Rosamund Clifford, commonly called Fair Rosamund^ the
beautiful daughter of Walter de Clifford, of Clifford-castle, in the
CO. Hereford. Ela was so great an heiress, that she was privately
carried over to France by her friends, and concealed in a convent
in that country, till a proper marriage could be fixed upon for
her ; but the place of her confinement being discovered by one
William Talbot, a minstrel or harper, she was brought back to
England, and given in marriage by King Richard I. to William
Longespee, his natural brother, who in her right was also made
Earl of Salisbury. (5) William Longespee, or Longsword, Earl
of Salisbury, was a great hero in his time, but died at an early age;
and after his death, the Countess Ela devoted herself to works of
piety ; and was the foundress, and first abbess of Lacock Abbey,
in Wiltshire, where she died, and was buried. Her tomb is still
to be seen in the ivy-manded cloisters of that place.

Roger de Molend is called by Mathew Paris, Regis Nepos ;
•which may signify either that he was grandson to King Henry II.

(i) Journey from Chest, to Lond.

(2) Godwin de Prsesul. Shaw's Hist, of Staff, vol. i, p. 268.

(3) Dugd. Baron, vol. i. Pref. to Percy's Reliq. of An. Eng. Poet.

( 23G )
or nephew to Kings Richard and John. On the resignation of
Roger de Weseham, in the year 1266, he was chosen to succeed
him in the bishopric of Lichfield, through the interest of his cou-
sin, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother to King Henry 111. Bi-
shop de Molend, was also one of the pope's chaplains, and in the
last year of the reign of Henry III. was appointed sherifl" of
Berkshire. He was educated^ and peihaps born in a foreign
countiy, and was little conversant with the English language ;
and Avas moreover so often absent from his diocese, that Peck-
ham, Archbishop of Canterbury, thought it proper to addi-ess a
mandate to him, to enforce his residence ; and in the year 1284,
appointed Elias de Napton, Archbishop of Derby, to assist him in
the discharge of his functions , De Molend, however, was a libe-
ral benefactor to the church. He I'ecovered several possessions
belonging to his see, which had been nearly lost ; added three
livings to the prebends of the cathedral, and doubled the daily
stipend of the canons. In the year 1260, he purchased a piece of
land on the south-side of the Strand, in London, and built thereon
an episcopal palace, which was sometimes called Chester-place, and
was conveyed by that name 5 1 Hen. 8, to Edward, Earl of Hert-
ford, afterwards the protector, Duke of Somerset, in compensa-
tion for which it is said, the parsonage of Hanbury in the county
of Stafford was given to the see. He died at an advanced age, in
the year i^gS, and was bui'ied in the cathedral at Lichfield,
under a tomb on the south-side of the high altar, just below the
bishop's seat. (1)

The original deed of the Bishop of Lichfield's grant to Roger de
Aston, gives the following account of the transaction :

" Roger de Molend grants to Roger de Aston (dilecto Valetto
suo) all the lands and tenements, which Philip Noel foi'merly held

(i) Ang. Sacra, vol. i; p. 447- Harwood's Descrip of Lichf. Cath.

(357 )
in Longdon J and also die custody of his woods, belonging to his
barony of LichBeld and Haywood : and also the chief guar-
dianship of all his parks and hays, within his free chace of Can-
nock, with common of pasture for all his beasts, and pannage for
5o swine, in all the aforesaid woods, (except the parks and assarts)
and four oaks yearly for fire-wood, and one for timber, for the
repairs of his house : et quod praedictus Rogerus et heredes suij
prsedictos Boscos, Chacias, Haias, et Parcos, factos seu fa-
ciendos in viridi venatione, cum agistamentis, imparcameniis, at-
tachiamentis, et omnibus aliis ad custodias illas pertimentibus,
cuslodiant et conservent in perpetuum. Which grant is con-
firmed by Thomas, Priorof Coventry, under the common seal of
that cathedral, A. D. 1291 . Witnesses to Roger de Molend's deed,
Nicholas, Prior of St. Thomas, William de Stafford, Henry Mau-
veysin, Knt.

The said Roger de Molend granted further by another deed to
Roger de Aston, several lands and tenements in Haywood and
Bishton, to be held of him and his successors, by the eighth part
of a knight's fee, and eight shillings of yearly rent, and a reser-
vation of their appearance at his court at Haywood."

" A.D. i538, 3o Hen. 8, Rowland, Bishop of Coventry and
Lichfield, confirms to Sir Edward Aston, the chief rangership
of all his parks, hays, and chaces, in Cankwood 3 gi^anting him
moreover, two fee bucks, every summer, and two does each
winter j and one buck and one doe out of Beaudesert Park : to-
gether with the umbles of every buck and doe killed yearly, ex-
cept the umbles of such deer as shall be killed when the bishop or
his successors shall hunt themselves. He granted further to the
said Sir Edward and his heirs, 100 loads of fire-wood yearly
from Cankwood, to be spent either at his house at Haywood or
Tixall."(i)

(i) ChetwyadMS.

( 258)
Roger de Astoii added considerably to the property which he
held by the bounty of the Bishop of Lichfield. He obtained a
grant of other lands at Haywood, from Adam de Aston, who
might be supposed lo be of the same family, only that his arms
rere dillerent, the seal affixed to the deed bearing a bend, w'ilh
a Catherine wheel in chief, in the dexter point, and a wheel for the
crest. He also purchased the lordship of Broughtou in the parish
ofLongdonj and of John de Bocland, all his tenements in the
rill of Blithbury, held of Martin Martel of Cannock, for the sum
of 46/. i3s. 4d. and the annual payment of a chief rent of iS^d.
w'nh a. c/ove q/'ga/lic, to be delivered to the said Martin, within
the door of the hall of the principal messuage on the birth-day of
our Lord, before the hour of nine in the forenoon. This sum of
46/. i5s. 4d. appears very small now a-days for the purchase of
an estate. But first, we must observe, that the nominal pound
sterling of that pei'iod was a real pound of silver, or about three
of our nominal pounds, which at once raises the sum to 140/. sdly,
The rental of land was at that time low ; for it appears that the subsi-
dies which were first imposed about the time of Richard II . and were
the origin of our land-tax, (being a tax imposed upon persons in
respect of their reputed estates, after the nominal rate of 4s. in the
pound for lands, and as. 6d. for goods) did not, according to Sir
Edward Coke, amount to more than 70,000/. Whereas a land-
tax of 4s. in the pound on the land only, now produces above two
millions, and if fully and fairly assessed upon the present rentals,
would amount to more than seven millions. According to this
calculation, 140/. at that time should purchase as much land as
14,000/. would now : — thus supposing the average price of land
to be now about 70/. an acre, (a very high estimate) the estate of
Roger Aston in Blithbury, could not have been less than 200 acres.
And this appears very likely, as this estate came to Martin of Can-
nock, above-mentioned, by marriage with Letitia, one of the two

(259)
daughters and coheiresses of Sir Wm. Rilby, who was sole Lord
of Blilhbury, which probably couslsls of considerably more than
400 acres.

I shall conclude these details respecting Roger de Aston, by no-
ticing a singular coincidence or connexion which at length took
place between his family and that of Roger de Molend, his bene-
factor. Roger de Molend was^ through his grandmother Rosa-
mund Clifford, great grandson of Walter de Clifford, of Clifford-
castle j and the late Hon. Thomas Clifford, of Tixall, (who by his
marriage with the daughter and heiress of Lord Aston, became
possessor of the estate at Haywood) was also lineally descended
by the male line from the said Waller de Cliffoi'dj so that the
estate of Haywood^ after remaining for five centuries with the
direct descendants of Roger de Aston, the original gran-
lee, became the property of a descendant fi'om the family of
the original grantor ; and this was effected by a union between
the families of both.

Quod divum promittere nemo

Auderet, volveada dies ea attulit ultro !

Roger de Aston, who may thus be considered as the founder of
this family, died in the year i5oo.

Sibillaj the eldest daughter of Roger de Aston, married Richard
Wolseley. The following account of the origin of this family is
given by Chetwynd^ in his Manuscript Collections.

"■ Trent having left Colwich, passes between Wolseley and
Bi^hton, both which were anciently members of Haywood. JSi-
gellus, paternal ancestor of the Griesleys, held Wulselegh of y"
Bp. 20 Conq. ii being then rated at half a hide, and valued at 4od.
About the time of King Henry H. it was divided betwixt Ric. de
Hintes, and Ric. de Wolseley, as appears by the following
deed :

Hsec est Conventio facta inter Ricardum de Hintes, et Ricardum

C 240 )

de Wolsellegh Nepotem suum .- Quod communi consensu amlco^
rum eorum, ex utraque parte sunt interafEdati fideliter simut
tenere jura eorum apud Wulsellegh : fideliter et polenter ser-
vare, etsimul gubernare, etinbonum tractare ; et ubi jura eorum
retro sint, quod adquirei'e poterint fideliter et potenter purcha-
ciare, et dimidiare : ita quod neuter eorum de altei'O flectabit,
nee concordiam faciet de placito sine altero, nee placitum com-
mutabit. Hanc autem Conventionem fideliter observare ex
utraque parte, et confirmare, Hij sunt testes. Ral. de Mutton.
Ada fil. ejus. Ada de Colwiz, cum aliis muhis.

ISot long alter it came into y^ possession of the Wolseleys, ■vvho
held it of y' Greisleys, by y* rent of 4s. per an. and after many
generations devolved to S"" Thomas Wolseley, and from him to S'
Rob. Wolseley, who was advanced to y* dignity of a baronet
4 Car. 1, and had issue S'' Charles Wolseley of Wolseley, Bart,
now living 1680."

This Sir Charles Wolseley, who was living in the time of Walter
Chetwynd of Ingestrie, was a great favourite with Oliver Crom-
wellj who allowed him to draw from Needwood Forest as much
timber as was necessary to form a paling round his park, which
is still standing.

Sir William Wolseley, one of his descendants, lost his life,
about the beginning of the last century, in a very singular man-
ner. He went to Lichfield one morning about nine miles from
his house, in his coach and four, and on his way passed a little
brook, which runs across the road at Longdon, and which is so
shallow that a foot passenger can easily step over it, the water
being kept up by a mill-dam at some distance from the road.
When Sir William Wolseley reached this brook, on his return
home in theevening, themill-damjustatthatinstantsuddenly gave
way, the water rushed across the road, overturned the carriage,
and drowned Sir William with his horses. The coachman was

( 24l )

thrown off the box into a tree and escaped. Ralph Wolseley, ba-
ron of the exchequer, married Margaret, fourth daughter of John
Aston, Esq. temp. Edw. 4- (i)

Sir Charles Wolseley, the present baronet, married Mary, se-
cond daughter of the late Hon. Thomas Clifford of Tixall, and
grand-daughter of James, fifth Lord Aston. By this marriage,
the families of Aston and Wolseley were a third time united,
during a lapse of five centuries. The estate of Bishton, which
was the marriage portion of Sibilla de Aston, is still the properly
of the Wolseley family.

The consequence and consideration which the family of Aston
had acquired in the county of Stafford, soon appeared in the per-
son of John de Aston, son and heir of Roger de Aston. He was
created a knight, which was the highest dignity that an English
sovereign could then bestow ; for the more modern titles of duke,
marquis, and viscount, were in those times unknown ; the dig-
nity of comes or earl, was a title of office, corresponding nearly
with that of lord lieutenant of a county ; and all those were called
barons who held lands of the king. In the seventh year of the
reignof King Edward III. Sir John de Aston was elected knight
of the shire with Sir Richard de Falede, and according to the cus-
tom of that period, received from his constituents an allowance of
expenses for eighteen days attendance in Parliament.

Some years after, he was appointed by King Edward III. high
sheriff of the county of Stafford ; an office, which as Hume has
shewn, in his History of England, was in those feudal times of
the greatest trust and consequence. The high sheriff Avas called
in Latin Vice-comes, from which the modern title of viscount is
derived.

(i) Appendix V.

Gg

( 242 )

Sir Roger de Aston, Knt. eldest son and heir of Sir John, was
chosen knight of the shire for the county of Stafford, twice dur-
ing the lifetime of his father. He was also one of the officers at-
tached to King Edward III. and had a shai-e in the military events
of that glorious and memorable reign.

His grandson Sir Thomas Aston ofHaywoodj Knt. -was, like
his ancestors, master of the game in Cankwood, and several times
knight of the shire for the county of Stafford. He accompanied
John of Ghent in an expedition into Gascony, in the year 1594,
and by Henry IV. was also appointed high sheriff. He married
Elizabeth, sister and coheiress of Reginald de Leigh, and of Park-
hall in the county of Stafford. — (See Appendix V.)

John Aston, Esq. ofHaywoodj who flourished in the reign of
Edward IV. was by that king appointed sheriff of the counties
both of Stafford and Warwick, on two different occasions. He
•was one of the adherents of the famous Lord Hastings, who was
accused of witchci-aft, and put to death in a very summary man-
ner, by the protector, afterwards King Richard III. The name of
John Aston, Esq. is to be found in a list of 8g persons, knights,
esquires, and gentlemen, who engaged to stand by Lord Hastings,
whether in peace or war. This list is contained in an ancient roll,
thus entitled :

" The names of such persons, as by indenture, of theirown free
will, and mere motions, covenanted, helafte, and faithfully pro-
mised to aid and assist the Right Hon. WmLord Hastings, and
his part to take against all persons within this realm of England
during their lives, as well in peace as war : their allegiance to
the king's majesty, his heirs and successors, only reserved and ex-
cepted, with so many able persons as every of them might well
make to be furnished and arrayed at the costs and charges of the
said Lord : For the which, the said Lord promised them to be
iheir good and tnie Lord, in all things reasonable, and them

( 243 )

lo aid and succour in all iheir rightful causes, so far forth as
Law, Equity, and Conscience require.

" Anno Edwardi Quarti decimo quarto. "(i)

The list consists of 2 lords, 9 knights, 58 esquires, and 20 gen-
tlemen, in all 8g. The name of John Aston is the third among
the esquires.

Sir John Aston, knight banneret, eldest son of this John Aston,
Esq. made a considerable figure during the period in which he
flourished. He was made a knight of the Bath, at the marriage of
Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. with Catherine of Ar-
ragon. Infanta of Spain, (afterwai-ds the wife of his younger bro-
ther Henry VIII.) which was celebrated in the year i5o2. Sir
John Aston accompanied Henry VIII. in his expedition into
France, in the third year of his reign, and was present at the sieges
of Terouenne and Tournay. For his valour and conduct at the
battle of Spurs, he was made a knight banneret by the king him-
self on the field of battle ; and this appears to have been the last
instance in which this distinguished dignity of chivalry was con-
ferred by an English sovereign in the open field after a victory.
Sir John Aston was several times high sheriff of the counties of
Stafford, Leycester, and Warwick.

In Maitland's History of London, p. lOiS, is the following ac-
count of a religious and charitable association, of which Sir John
Aston was one of the members and founders :

*' There was a very noble Guild, or fraternity, founded in the
church of St. Catherine's Hospital, in honor of St. Barbara. It
was governed by a master and three wardens. It had two royal
founders, King Henry VIII. and Queen Katharine his first wife ;
and many very high and honoui'able persons associated them-
selves as members and founders of the said confraternity, viz. ;

(i)Dugdales Baron, vol. 1. p. 583.

( 244 )

King Henry, Queen Katharine, Cardinal Wolsey, Duke and
Duchess of Buckingham, Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, Duke of
Suflblk, my Lord Marquess, the Earls of Shrewsbuiy, Northum-
berland, and Surrey, Lord Hastings, and all their ladies, bre-
thren, and sisters.

Also, Sir Richard Cholmeley, Sir William Compton, Sir Wil-
liam Skeffington, Sir John Digby, Sir Ryce ap Thomas, Sir Gryf-
fith Ryce, Sir John Aston, Knighis, and John Beaumont, Esquire,

RULES OF THE SAID FRATERNITY.

" Whoever by the grace of God is disposed to enter into the
blessed fraternity of the Gylde of our glorious Saviour Christ
Jesus, and of the blessed Virgin and Martyr St. Barbara, founded
in St. Katheryn's church near the lower of London, and will have
the pardon, privilege, and profit thei'eunto granted and ordained,
must pay to the said fraternity, the sumof los. 4d. sterling, at his
first entering if he will, or else by leisure within the space of 7 years ;
that is, at his first entering, 1 2d. andevery quarter following 4d. till
ihesaidios. 4d.be paid, in money, plate, or any other honest stuff:
And at the first payment, he or she that so enterelh into the said
fraternity, whether they be wedded or single, shall receive a let-
ter with the seal of the Warden Collector : which Warden shall
receive their name, and bring it to the altar of the gloiious Jesus,
and St. Bai'bara, in St. Katheryn's church aforesaid, there to be
registered, and there shall be prayed for daily by name. And
when the last sum of los. 4<1. is paid, tlien the said brother or
sister shall receive a letter with the common seal of the said fra-
ternity and place, with the masters name and wardens therein for
the time being, whereby he shall have a great commodity and
surety of living : that is, that ever the said brother or sister
fall in decay of woi'ldly goods, as by sickness, or hurt by wars,
or upon the land or sea, or by any other casualty, or means,
fallen into poverty, then if he bring the said letter sealed with

(245 )

the said common seal, the Master and all the company shall re-
ceive him favourably j and there he shall have every week i4d. ;
house-room and bedding, and a woman to wash his cloths, and
dress his meat ; and so to continue year by year, and week by
week, during his life.

Given the first day of December, i5i8. Sir William Skef-

fington Knt. being then Master, and William Unley, and

Robert Fisher, Wardens."

Sir John Aston married Joanna, daughter of Sir William
Littleton, son of the famous Judge Littleton. This lady was also
heiress to her mother Helen, daughter of Robert Walsh, Esq. Lord
of Wanlip, in the county of Leicester. By her the 7?za/zoro/' Tixall
came to the family of Aston, having been sold by Rose de Was-
teneys, the heiress of it, to Judge Littleton.

Sir John Aston died in the year 1 520, and was buried by the side
of his lady, in Leigh church, where a handsome marble monu-
ment richly gilded, was erected to her memory ; on the top
of the monument are the figures of Sir John habited as a knight in
complete armour, and his lady lying by him, their hands joined,
and elevated in a praying posture, with appropriate emblems of
valour and virtue, at the head and feet. The monument stands
lengthways against the wall, and on the opposite side are six
niches, with two human figures in each. At the head are also three
niches, with two figures in each, and at the foot of the monu-
ment there are three, each filled with an angel, supporting a coat
of arms. Round the verge is this inscription :

Hie jacent corpora Domini Johauuis Aston Militis, et Dominse
Johannae Aston, uxoris ejus, qui quidem Dominus Johannes obiit
decimo octavo die Mensis Maii, Anno Domini iSaS. Et prsedicta
Domina Johanna obiit, die Mensis Anno Dom. i5 .

Sir Edward Aston of Tixall, eldest son and heir of Sir John

( 24G)
Aston, was high sheriff of Staftbrdshire three different times in the
reign of Henry VIII. and twice during the reign of Philip and
Mary.

On the dissolution of the religious houses, he was forced by King
Henry VIII. to take Matherficld, or Mayfield, belonging to the
priory at Tutbury; the abbey of Hilton, Bradnop, and divers
other abbey lands in the county of Stafford, in exchange for es-
tates at Ashted in Surrey, and other places which he possessed by
descent from his ancestors J they having been given by " Radulphus ,
filius Willielmi Canierarii," immediately after the Conquest, to
William de Mara^ of whom Sir Edward Aston was the heir ge-
neral.

Sir Edward built a mansion-house at Tixall, in a magnificent
style of Gothic architecture, and died there in the year i55g.
He married two wives, first, Mary^ daughter of Sir Henry Vernon,
Knt. who died without issue at Wanlip in Leicestershircj where
they appear to have chiefly resided, and where she was buried ;
as her tomb is still to be seen, with the arms of Aston and Ver-
non carved upon it. The second wife of Sir Edward was Joan,
or Joanna, daughter of Sir Thomas Bolles or Bowles of Penliow-
castlcj in ^Monmouthshire, one of the barons of the exchequer, by
whom he had issue three sons and three daughters. Sir E. Aston
and his second wife were entombed under a stately monument
of alabaster, in St. Mary's church at Stafford ; on which they are
represented in a recumbent posture, with images of their chil-
dren carved around the tomb, and the following inscription, in
which is the name of Lady Aston only, as the monument was
erected to her memory by Sir Edward, who survived her six
years. He died at Tixall in the year i568, and was laid by her
side in the same tomb.

"^ In hoc tumulo conditur Domiua Joanna Aston, uxor Ed-
wardi Aston de Tixall generosi, eaque ipsa filia Tho. BoUis de

C247)

Penho Equitis egregii. Quae quidem Domina Aston intra mor-
tales esse desiit Auuo Domini i562, adhuc vivente marito. Mane-
rium de Tixall fuit sedificatum non sine summa soliciludine atque
labore, impensis Jange Bowles, filiae Thomse Bowles militis. So
all mj trust is in God." On each side of the monument are four
armorial bearings, and at the end of it are the arms of Bowles,
which are two wings conjoined, with this motto, "■ I sought to
fie thought j" and the arms of Aston with many quarterings, sur-
mounted by a bull's head, the family crest, and this motto, "In
God is all my trast." On an alabaster slab in the wall, at the foot
of the monument, are the arms of Aston and Bowles impaled,
and round the verge these words : *^*^ JM. Edwardi Aston et Janae
Bowles." Opposite to it are the following Latin verses, which
like the inscriptions above-mentioned are all carved in Gothic
letters :

Hie Johanna jacet Domina Aston, quae pia quondam

Edward! Astoui militis uxor erat.
Filia sic et erat Thomae Bollis •, domus uude

Prodiit est Penho miles et ipse fuit.

Ilia quidem yiUam de TjTcall tedificando

Auxiliatrices praebuit usque manus.
Haec matrona potens, prolis fsecuuda, benigna,

Prudens, atque sciens, ac animosa fuit. '

Sit mundus judei, pereat liver quoque, dicam

Nestoreos anuos vivere digna fuit.
Deinde dies venit fatalis, qua; manet omnes,

Debita Natura; solvere quxque jubet.

Septembrisque die viceno, lieu ! perit ilia,

Atque secundo, aiunt, mors ! tua vis nimia est.

Immo non periit, sed Oljmpica regna petivit,
Qua: Pater Kteruus praeparat ipse suis.

( 248 )
Non mors est quam nos fugimus, mortemque vocamus,
Sed vere vita est, vivimus atque Deo.

TRANSLATION.

Jane Lady Aston here lies in your siglit
The pious wife of Edward Aston, knight.
Of Thomas Bowles likewise the daughter she,
Of Penhow Castle, and a knight was he.
In building Tixall House her helping hand
From first to last this lady did expand.
A noble matron, prudent, knowing, kind,
A fruitful mother, of a lofty mind.
Most worthy was she Nestor's years to see,
As Envy's self, and all the world agree.
Yet came the fatal hour, which waits us all,
Great Nature's debt to pay which gives the call.
September twenty-second was the day
Which called her spirit from this earth away,
Alas ! that so much worth should perish quite !
Too great, O death ! is thy insatiate might.
But no — she did not perish, there she lives,
Where to his saints himself the Almighty gives.
What we call death, when this our life is done.
This death, which with such terror mortals shun^
Is hfe, our real life, in God and heaven begun.

A.C.

Sir Walter Aston, Knt. eldest son and heir of Sir Edward
Aston, by his second wife Jane Bowles, was chosen knight of the
shire for the county of Stafford^ together with William Devereux,
third son of Walter, first Viscount Hereford, during the short
reign of Edwai'd VI. Sir Walter Aston was a military man, and

( 249)

<listingiiished himself in an expedition which was sent to Scotland
in the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He was pre-
sent at the siege of Leith near Edinburgh, and for his valour on
that important occasion was knighted by that queen, who
during her whole reign was remarkably sparing of titles and ho-
nours. In the 12th and 22d years of her reign, Sir Walter Aston
was high sheriff of the county of Stafford. He built the Gate-
house at Tixall, of which a description has been given in another
part of this work. Erdeswick, the antiquary, mentioning it in
his survey of Staffordsh're, says, " It is one of the statelyest
pieces of work which I have seen made of late in these countrys."

The portrait of Sir "Walter Aston, painted on wood, is preserved
at Tixall. He is represented in black armour studded with gold ;
his left hand grasping the hilt of his sword, his right resting on his
helmet, which is adorned with a plume of white feathers, and
lies with his gauntlets on a table before him. The helmet and
gauntlets, like the rest of the armour, are black studded with gold.
In one corner of the picture are the Aston arras, under them this
inscription :

Walterus Aston, apud Leith in Scotia miles, in re militari Eli-
zabethfe serenissimee Reginse Anglioe, A°. Regni sui sccundo,
A°. i56o.

In another place is written :

Effigies A°. Domini i584, setatis suee 55. '

Sir Walter Aston died at the age of 6o, in the year i585. From
William, his fourth son, who was settled at Milwich, near Tixall,
is descended the R.ev. Walter Hutchinson Aston, the ninth and
present Lord Aston.

Eleanor, third daughter of Sir Walter Aston, married William
Peyto, Esq. of the county of Warwick. They were buried in the
.south aisle of Chesterton church in that county, under a handsome
marble monument, decorated with their busts, and the arms of

Hh

( 25o )
Peyto and Aslou impaled. On one side of the mommient is the
following epitaph.

Deo Trino et Uni Sacmm .
Gulielmo Pejto optimee memorije viro vetusta Pictaviorum
prole, laudatissimo, et sui temporis primo, majorumque suorum
ab Henrici II""' Regis temporis hac equestri dignitate functormn,
in Demn pietate, in egenos miiuiGcentia, morumque suavitate in
omnes, felici imitatori, Edwardus fdius, Eques auratus, msestus,
mserens, M. P. C.

Ipse ab Elianora, filia Domini Gualteri Aston, Militis, amita
Domini Gualteri Aston de Tixall, Baronis de Forfar, (legatio-
nem regiam in Hispania jampridem gerentis) quinque filios con-
juge sua amantissima suscepit.

Hie mense Decembri, anno a Verbo carnem facto M.D.C.I.X.
IllaFebr. MDCXXXVI. fatis concesserunt.

There is also a monument in the same church to the memory
of their second son Edward Pey to, on which he is styled, " Vir
bonarum literarum, maxima Mathematicarum peritissimus."

Their grandson also, who died in i658, appears to have been
a man of great learning. According to his epitaph, on a mar-
ble stone, he was " Vir exploratse integritatis, gravitate morum
conspicuus, rerumque intimos recessus scientiarum lumine con-
spicatus."

In those times, as all land was supposed to be held of the
crown, and the heir was obliged to pay a certain sum for his
" Relief" as it was called, before he could obtain the full posses-
sion of his property, it was customary to make a legal inquiry,
called <■' Inquisitio post mortem" into the property of the deceased.
The following table is an account of the estates which descended
to Sir Waller Aston, in the county of Stafford.

(25l )

Copy of the Schedule delivered to Sir TVm.Cecil,Knt. lo
Eliz hj Sir IValter Aston, Knt. upon the death of his
father, of all his lands and hereditaments.

County of Stafford.

L. s. d.

Manor of Mylwiche, etc. holding of the queen of her

manor of Forebridge. Clear yearly value 20 6 8

(Infeoffment to the use of the said Edw. Aston, Knt.
for the term of his life, and after his decease to the
use of Leonard Aston, one of his sons, for life, and
after him to the said Edw. Aston, and his heirs for
ever.)

Six messuages, arable, pasture, and meadow lands
and woods in Uttoxeter, woodlands, and March-
ington woodlands, holden of the queen's honor of
Tutbury, in the Dutchy of Lancaster, in free socage
for allegiance only, and a rent of 6d a year. An-
nual value 20 7 1 o

(InfeofTment to Sir Edw. Aston, Knt. and after his
death to Antony, one of his sons, and afterwards to
Sir Edward, and his heirs for ever.)

Manor of Tixsall, Bi'dmcotte, Hanyate, etc. holden of
the queen, as of her barony of Stafford, in free so-
cage, viz. for following the court, and allegiance
only. Annual Value 35 o o

Certain messuages and lands in Brockton, held of Ed-
ward, Earl of Oxford, as of his manor of Acton-
Trussel, in free socage, etc 4 2 o

( 252 ;

L. s. d.

Certain messuages, lands, etc. in Wollaston and

Onne, heldof the queen, as ofhermanox' ofChurch-

eaton. A. V. ]5 16 lo

Cei'tain messuages, lands, etc. in Longdon, held of

H. Loi'd Paget, by an annual rent of 22s. A. V. 10 12 8

Certain messuages, lands, etc. in Rugeley, held of H.
Loi'd Paget, as of his manor of Cannock, Rent 8d.
per ann. A. V 1 14 6

Certain messuages, lands, etc. in Shutborow and
Haywood, held of Lord Paget, by annual rent of
27s. 6d. A. V 28 o o

Certain messuages, etc. in Bi-omley Regis, held of

Roger Partridge. A. V 5 i3 4

Certain messuages, etc, in Packington, held of Wm.

Stanford, as of his manor of Packington. A. V. .. o lO o

Cei'tain lands, etc. in Shareshill, held of Simon Har-
court, as of his manor of Shareshull, by a rent of
2od. per ann. A. V o 10 o

The third part of the manor of Leigh, held of Lord
Paget, as of his manor of Burton upon Trent, by a
rent of 26s. 8d. A. V 20 4 10

Certain lands and tenements in Stafford, held of the

queen. A. V 3 o o

Certain lands, etc. in Colton, held of "VVni. Gresley,

Knt. as of hismanor of Colton. A. V o 6 8

Certain lands, etc. in Hixton, held of Wm. Greisley,
Knt. as of his manor of Morton, by an annual rent
of8s. A.V 254

Certain lands, etc. in Kingston, held of Wm. Greis-
ley, Knt. as of his manor of Kingston, by annual
rent of i2d. A. V

o a o

( 253 )

L. s. d.

Manor of Hulton, eic. and rectory of Milwich, with

the advowson of the vicarage of the same, and rents

from certain lands, as in Grymshill and Oulton,

held of the queen, in cap. by an annual r°nt of

I2S. 8. A. V 2g i5 2

Manor of Bradnop, held of the queen, in cap. by a

rent of 28. 5d. A. V 20 2 5

Manor of Mathiield, held of the queen in cap. rent

37s. 8id. A. V 1619 5i

Certain lands in Stafford, Marston near Staffoi-d,

Myxton and Oncote, held of thequeenin cap. A. V. 10 o o
Lands in Bagott's Bi'oniley, heldof Rich. Bagot, Esq.

by ] 7d. rent. A. V 10 o o

City of Litchfield and Coventry

Lands in Coventry. A.V o 6 o

Lands in Lichfield o 2 o

County of Derby.
Manor of Eddleston. A.V 1 5 8 6

County of Warwick.

Manor of Beawdesert, audits appurt. in Beawdesert

and Wooton Wawyn 26 7 6

Manor of Pinley i5 6 8

County of Leicester.

Manor of Onlep 3i 7 2

Lands in Seaston 5 5 6

Lands in lUesley-Walton o 8 8

( 256 )

L. s. d.

Lauds in Bristall i i3 4

Do. in Overtowne Sawey i 6 8

Do. in Barklye 2 8 6

Do. in Rodeley o 2 o

L.349 ^4 2i

With respect to the amount of the rents in this Schedule, I
shall observe isl. That it is well known that in the reign ol
Queen Elizabeth, landlords did not receive more than an eighth
of their rents in money ; the remainder being paid in kind, and
by services. 2dly, That the price of provisions was from i-4ih
to i-5th of the present value. These estates must have been equal
to at least 20,000/. or 3o,ooo/. a year at this time.

Edward Aston, the eldest son and heir of Sir Walter, was only
1 9 years of age, at the death of his father • and being a minor,
was according to the custom of the feudal times, a ward of Queen
Elizabeth. On his coming of age, about the year 1671, he re-
ceived from her majesty the honour of knighthood. It appears
that on this occasion, he was noi made a simple knight, but a
knight bannei'etj the highest honour of chivalry. I have men-
tioned above, that Sir John Aston, the great grandfather of Sir
Edward, was made a knight banneret by the king in person on the
field of battle after a victory. This Avas certainly the most ho-
nourable and distinguished manner in which the dignity of ban-
neret could be conferred ; but we learn from St. Palaye, in his
intei-esting "■ Memoirs of Chivalry," that if a knight was rich and
powerful enough to furnish the state with a certain number of
armed men, and to entertain them at his own expeucc, they al-
lowed him to add to the simple title of knight, or knight batche-
lor, the more noble and exalted title of knight banneret. This

( 255 )
gave liim the distinction of carrying a square banner at the top
of his lance, whereas that of a simple knight was extended in two
points : and the same ceremonies were used at his being made
a banneret, as at the institution of barons, viscounts, mar-
quises, and dukes. He claimed moreover, by I'ight, the same
rank that was expressed on the coals of arms of those no-
blemen.

Jn the house of Mr. Levet at Lichfield, there is a portrait of Sir
Edward Aston, inscribed " Sir Edward Aston, knight banneret,
Anno Domini i575, setatis suae 22." He holds in one hand a me-
dallion suspended to a gold chain, and bearing the figure of a
woman, probably the picture of Queen Elizabeth.

In the year 1587, Sir Edward Aston was at the head of the com-
mission appointed by Queen Elizabeth, to examine the letters and
seal up the papers and effects of Mary Queen of Scots, who was
then a prisoner at Chartley-castle. It was at this time that Ba-
bington's plot for cai'rying off the Queen of Scots, was dis-
covered. He had intended to sui'prise her guards and attend-
ants, and to carry her off while she was taking the exercise of
riding in the fields between Chartley and Stafford.

In the 56th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Edward
Aston was appointed high sheriff of Staffordshire, an office of
honour and trust, which every one of his ancestors had dis-
charged from the time of King Edward III. and indeed, the lustre
of his descent, his noble alliances, and the extent of his pro-
perty, might justly have entitled him to any degree of rank and
honour.

Sir Edward Aston was twice married, and both his wives were
of very high and illustrious descent. The first was Mary, third
daughter of Sir John Spencer, Knt. of Althorp, in the county of
Northampton, ancestor of Earl Spencer, who died without issue.
His second was Anne, only daughter of Sir Thomas Lucy, Knt.

( 256 )
of Charlecote, in the county Warwick. By her he had three sons
and five daughters.

His third daughter Anne, manned Ambrose Elton, Esq. ofHasel,
in the county of Hereford. One of their daughters called Ger-
trude, was married to Abraham Blackleech, Gent, of the county
of Gloucester. This lady erected to the memory of her husband
in Gloucester cathedral^ a very costly altar- tomb of white mar-
ble, executed in Italy, from a design of Vandyke, on which is
the following epitaph :

" To the happy memorie of Abraham Blackleech, Gent, sonne
of William Blackleech, Esq. a man not only generally belovd in
his life, but endeared to posterity by rare examples of seldom pat-
terned piety, expressed in his bounty to St. Paule's in Loudon, to
this church, to the high wayes about, and the poor in this citye,
who layeing aside the vileness of mortality was admitted to the
glory of eternity, November the 5oth 1659. Gertrude his wife,
daughter of x\mbrose Elton, and Anne sister to Walter Lord As-
ton, hath ei-ected this monument as a testimony of his fame and
her observance."

About sixty years ago, a monument was erected to the memory
of Anne and Ambrose Elton, by one of their descendants, in
Ledbury church, on which is this incription :

" Near this place were interred the bodies of Ambrose Elton of
the Hazle, in this parish, and Anne his wife, whose virtues and
social qualities justly deserve to be perpetuated. He was born in
1578, and at 12 years of age enjoyed a fellowship in Brazen Nose
College, Oxford, that was founded by one of his family. He was
in the commission of the peace upwards of 5o years, which trust
he executed with great integrity and ability. Anne his wife was
daughter of Sir Edward Aston, knight banneret, and sister to
WalterLord Aston of Tixall, in the county of Staflbrd, by whom
he had three sons, and 14 daughters: and from their own loins

SIR WALTER ASTO>'

IC.B. \yD BARONET

FIRST l.ORD ASTON.

c/yr>rfty ay <_ '^«<»<W'<"',/xa', m^' S-^^e0Mri - e/t /j-/' TBO. cliffv/w murt.

(257 )
thej lived to see above 120 children. He died 19 Feb. iGSg.
His wife died 5 Feb. 1660. In memory of whom this monument
was erected by one of their great grandsons, Thomas Levet, Esq.
of the city ol Lichfield, 1753."

Above the inscription the arms of Elton impaling those of Aston.

Sir Edward Aston died in iSgS. Sir Walter, his eldest son,
being a minor at the time of his father's death, was given in ward-
ship, by Queen Elizabeth, to the famous Sir Edward Coke, af-
terwards lord chief justice of the court of King's Bench. Soon
after he came of age, he was made a knight of the Bath at the
Coronation of James I. On this occasion, the celebrated poet
Drayton attended upon him as his esquire. Sir Walter Aston ap-
pears to have imbibed, at an early age, a decided taste for litera-
ture and poetry ; for we find that Drayton dedicated to him his
" Epistle of the Black Prince" in his collection of " Heroic Epis-
tles," in 1 598, at which time Sir Walter was about eighteen years
old. But a long intimacy must have subsisted between them, as
most of Drayton's subsequent poems were inscribed to Sir Wal-
ter, (1) and it is probable that several of them were composed at
Tixall, as may be gathered from the following lines of the Po-
lyolbion :

Trent,- by Tixall graced, the Astons' ancient seat,

J'Fhich oft the Muse hatlifound her safe and s%veet retreat.

Whose bounty still my Muse so freely shall confess.
That when she lacketh words, her signs shall it express.

Song xii.

Sir Walter lived also in habits of intimacy with Sir Richard Fan-

(i) See Appendix to Tixall Poetry.

I

( 258 )
shaw, the translator of Camocns, who died at Madrid in 1666.
He was created a baronet in the year 161 1, at the first institution
of that dignity. In i6i8hewas appointed steward of the honour
of Tutbury, constable of the castle, and ranger of all the royal
forests in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, except the High Peak,
during pleasure. This dignity was restored to him 7 Car. 1, i652.
In 1619 he was sent ambassador into Spain, to manage the nice
and difficult proposal of a marriage between Charles Prince of
Wales, and the Infanta, daughter of Philip III. in which, says
his grandson, " he proceeded with great prudence and warynesse,
and with a sincere zeale to have served his prince, yet was a true and
fast friend to the then Duke of Buckingham." (t) He was indeed
nearly connected with that celebrated favourite, his first cousin,
the Earl of Denbigh, having married in 1607, Susan Villiers, the
duke's sister. Sir Walter was born and bred a Protestant; but
during his residence in Spain he embraced the Ptoman Catholic
Faith, which all his descendants have invariably adhered to.
Among his papers is found a full statement of the conscientious
reasons, which induced him to take this step. He returned to
England, just after the death of King James, and was created by
letters patent, dated aSih Nov. 1627, Baron Aston, of Forfar in
the kingdom of Scotland, with all the privileges belonging to a
peer of that realm. In i655, he was again sent ambassador into
Spain, where he continued about three years. He returned to
England in iGSS, and died the year following.

" Hee Avas seised at the time of his going into Spain, of divers
manors and lordships, lying in the countyes of Stafford, War-
wick, Derby and Leicestre, to y' no lesse value than of 10,000/.
per an. the greatest part of which he lost and dispended in that
service." (■2)

(i) Exautogr. Dom. Gualt. Bar. de Aston, uepotis, penes me.
(2) Exautogr prtcd.

(=^59)

Lord Aston had a grant from the crown for his life, of a house
and piece of ground of about four acres and a half, near St. James's
Park, called the Mulberry Garden, with a salary annexed to it of
60/. a year. It is supposed to be the site of what is called the
Queen's House, or Buckingham House. It is the title of one of
Sir Charles Sedley's comedies. (1)

Lord Aston has a place among Lloyd's " Worthies." " There
was in his countenance," says that author, " such a throne of
sweetness, and his words had so powerful a charm, set off with so
agreeable and taking gravity, that the respect due to him was not
lost in the love he had deserved^ nor the love he attained to
abated by the respect be commanded." (2)

There is a portrait of him painted on board in Loid Bagot's
house at Blithfield- and another, full length, at Bellamore, the
seat of Edw. Blount, Esq. of which an engraving is given in Mr.
Lodge's " Portraits of Illustrious Men." The countenance in
both resembles that of the miniature given in this work.

By Gertrude, his lady, grand-daughter of the great statesman.
Sir Ralph Sadler, knt. banneret, he had five sons and five daugh-
ters. Of those who lived to man's estate, a particular ac-
count is given in the Preface to the Tixall Poetry. His third son,
Herbert, was born at Chelsea in l6^/^, and in i655, accompa-
nied his father, as secretary, on his second embassy to Madrid.
On his return he married Catherine, sister of Sir John Thimelby
of Irnham in Lincolnshire, and resided on a small estate which
his father gave him, at Colton in Staffordshire, on which he
built a house, and called it Bellamour. (3) He died in i68g.

(1) Nich. Leic. v. 2, p. 4o3.

(2) Worthies, vol. 2, p. 249.

(3) See p. 29 of this work.

( 26o )

His children died without issue j and about the year 1720, Bella-
mour-house and estate reverted to the elder branch, till the divi-
sion of the estates of James, Lord Aston, in 1768. It then de-
volved to his eldest daughter, the Hon. Lady Blount, who erected
there an elegant and very commodious modern mansion, which
is now the property, and seat of Edward Blount, Esq. her se-
cond son.

Walter, second Lord Aston, was appointed to the steward-
ship ofTulbury,and theother dignities mentioned above, upon the
death of his father. He was however in very embarrassed circum-
stances ; for it appears, that his father had disposed of landed es-
tates to the amount of 4,000/. a year to defray the expence of his
embassy in Spain, and had burthened the remainder with a debt
of 6000/. ; he paid a jointure of 800/. a year to his mother, and
the remaining income amounted only to 460/. a year. In this dis-
tress he presented a petition to the ling, praying that the arrears
of his father's pension, amounting to 1000/. might be paid him,
and soliciting a grant of Heyling's Park, adjoining to Needvvood
Forest, containing about 2oo acres, and valued at 5s. an acre 5
but the troubles which broke out at that time prevented any atten-
tion being shewn to his request. He adhered constantly to the
king's party in the Great Rebellion, and in the beginning of the
war had a commission for raising a regiment ; but being suspected
of inclining too much to the Roman Catholic Religion, he met
with discouragement, and did not proceed in it j yet his affection
never wavered in the royal cause. He lived in the king's gar-
risons all the time of the war, and was in Lichfield during that
memorable siege which lasted 19 weeks. It was one of the last
garrisons that held out for the king; and did not surrender at
last but with his majesty's approbation Lord Aston, who was
then joined in commission with SirTho. Tiklesley, the governor,
sent a trusty servant in the habit of a labouring man, with a letter

(26l )

to the lung ; and in tliat disguise he got safe to his majesty at New-
castle, and brought back the following answer, written in the
king's own hand, which is still extant:

" Newcastle 6 June 1646.

My Lord Aston and Tildesley

The greatest of my misfortunes is that I cannot reward such
gallant and loyal subjects as you are, as I ought or would : for
the present I must deal freely with you, and give you my direc-
tions ; which is, that 1 can give you no relief, but I desire you
to hold out till Oxford be rendered : which will be ranked amongst
the I'est of the good services done by you to

Your most assured friend

Charles R.
For the Lord Aston and Sir Thos. Tildesley."

When Oxford was surrendered, and no conditions made for
them in the articles, as was expected, they made the best they
coidd for themselves, but were only permitted to go to their own
habitations, and compound for their estates.

By the kindness of Mrs. Ricketts, sister to the Earl of St. Vin-
cent, I am in possession of some letters written by Lord Aston to
her ancestor, John Swynfen, member of parliament for the bo-
rough of Tamworth, who have been always a strong abettor of
the parliamentary cause, appears to have had great influence
with that party. I will here give such extracts as may interest the
reader :

" Noble Sir,

I shall at all tjmes acknowledge your cyvylyty and compassy-
onatyng my sad condytyon, and uppon all occatjons ofl'ered truly
serve you. Sir, 1 heard my brother Weston moved you in a bu-

( 262)

synesse concerning me, it was truly accordyng to my necessy-
tous condytyon, and I desyred in y*" moving oft' itt he wold ac-
knowledge y' I was much oblyged to y" committee, and he would,
by your means only, let them know my truly necessyty, and y'
w* ffavour I received from them in it, I shall acknowledge at all
tyines to be your and their love to me. I have no ends in all my
buysyness but a small lyvelyhood to my wife and children, and,
if possible, to pay my necessytous creditors something, which I
shall not be able to eflect without your and y* committees' friendly
assistance, which shall be deserved with all service y'lyeth in my
power to you and y* committee. I rest

Your oblyged friend and servant,

Walter Aston.
Dunstable Ma : 7.

To my much honored good iriend Mr. Swinfen these.''

It appears that Mr. Swinfen did obtain from the committee an
allowance of go/, a year for his wife and children j after which
Lord Aston sent to him the following statement.

" My case truly stated —

In the year 1639 Walter Lord Aston my father deceased imme-
diately after his return fi'om his second embassy into Spayne,
in which imployment for this kingdom he spent 4000/. a yeaie
land, which should have descended uppc.n mee, and left me
ingaged for 6000/. He left me an estate in present of 460/.
a yeare, and other 800/. after my mother's decease ; in both
which estates I have but a bare estate for life. Uppou this I
made my repare up to London to his Majesty to beg reliefe. His
Majesty was graciously pleased to give me y* command in Need-
wood y' my lord Denbigh now holds, and uppon my petytyon for

( 265 )

reeleife referrd my buysynesse to y^ then Lord Tresorer, and y' a
commytyon should be sent out to survey Heyling's Parke laud and
wood y' I might have a stay tdl his Maj : should find some other
way to relieve me : whilst I was in pursuance of this, this sad war
broke out, my creditors fell violendy upon mee, I could not with-
out certainty of imprisonment remane at my owuc house. Being
forced to leave it, I sent for Mr. Thorley, desyred him if in my
abscence my estate were sequestci-ed for leaving my house, he
would let them know, y' if I might be suffered to live quiedy at
my house, I would return and upon my summons answer any
thing that could be objected against me : nor was there any
forces of y* parliaments' within ten mile of me, if any in the
county of Stafford then in y* king's hands. During my abode in
ye king's garysons by my endeavor I have helped many to their
libertys, some of them tenants to my estate sequestered, never so
much as demanding any rent of them, nor did I ever molest any
who rented my sequestered estate. 1 am now reduced to y' ne-
cessity y' I am not worth 200/.

My estate past at my marryage was L. 460

Annuityes alreddy allowed by y^ committee aSo
Allowed to my wife and children go

L.540

So that if my estate were set at the heighth that it could aryse to
It would advantage the state yeai-ly 120/. And then all those my
credytors which I ow y' 6000 pound to must stane, many of
them having at this instance cot bread to put in their mouths."

But Lord Aston lived to see better times. At the Restoration
in 1660, he was x'einslated in the stewardship of Tutbury, etc j

(264 )

and in the same year the manor-house and lordship of Standon,
CO. Herts, devolved to him by the death of his matei'nal micle,
Halph Sadler, Esq. without issue.

Standon became from this time the chief residence of the fa-
mily. Lord Aston had no farther revfard, says Wotton, (i) for
his loyal services and sufferings, but the obtaining letters patent in
i663 to him and his heirs, for a market to be held on Friday in
every week, and two several fairs every year in the town of
Standon.

Lord Aston was again exposed to trouble in the close of his
life, as may be seen by the following letter to Mr. Swinfen, which
is without date • but appeal's from the context to have been writ-
ten more than twenty years after the one last quoted.

" Sir
I shall, I believe, leave not only this country, but this na-
tyon, in May next. For I cannot conceive it pi'udence to lyve,
where I shall be put out of y^ protection of my king, and y®
laws of the natyon : which is to me severe, to be put to wan-
der, at the age of 67 ; and being a hundred thousand pounds
y® worse in my estate, for my father's and my faylhfulnesse to
my king, and for y'' honor and service of this natyon. Yet this
is likely to be my condytyon ; for I was the last assizes but one,
unjustly indycled, as a popish recusant : y^ last assizes 1 travers'd
it, next it will come to a tryal, when and where I doubt u^t out I
shall be most unjustly convicted. It is true I have long conversed
with papists, and truly love and honor them, and uppon these
grounds, y' any person of y' fay th or professyon, if he acts as y'
relygion or beleefe dyrecls him, hee must love God above all
things, obey the king as God's sole deputy to him in all uiings,

(1) Wottou's Baronetage, edit, of 1714.

( 265 )

love bis neighbor as bimselfe, and must be y* same, if he live so
long, a hundred yeares hence, as hee is at this present : and cer-
taynely constant princyples, never varyed, is fitter for to bee go-
verned, and for socyety, than giddy changeable uncertaynetyes.
Piygide truth is my principle, and God's will be done. — Pray par-
don this tedyous letter, and as y" are a prudent person, pitty,
though y" doe not approve, all my weaknesses and follyes, and I
rest

Your faithful and humble servant

Walter Aston.
Nov. 1, Tixall.

These — for my tnily honored good frend ]Mr. John Swinfen —
these —

In the House of Commons Franck — "

Lord Aston died 23d April, 1678, aged 6g, and was buried in
the church of St. Mary at Staflbrd.

Walter, third Lord Aston, was born in i635. He professed
the Roman Catholic Religion ; and from that circumstance, was
not only condemned to live in obscurity, but had his full share in
those strange persecutions which the clamour against Popery ex-
cited in his time. He lived in habits of great intimacy with the
unfortunate Viscount Stafford, fifth son of Thomas, Earl of Arun-
dell, who having wedded Mary, sister and heir of Henry Stafford,
Loiu Stafford, (the last heir male of the illustrious family of Staf-
ford, Duke of Buckingham, etc.) resided at his ancient mansion
of Staflbrd-caslle, five miles distant from Tixall.

About the latter end of November 1678, Lord Aston having dis-
covered that Stephen Dugdale, his Steward, had been guilty of
fraiidulent practices, and was indebted to him 5oo/., suddenly
dismissed him from his service. This man had long had a very
indifferent character, was much addicted to gambling, and had

K K

( 266 )

often injured his lordship's credit in the country^ by\vithholdin<»
the Avages due to the labourers and workmen in his service • but
his master would not listen to any accusations against him, till he
at length detected him himself. At this time the whole country
was filled with the alarms which Titus Oates had excited of a Po-
pish Plot and a foreign invasion j it was concluded that Dugdale,
who immediately absconded, was involved in the plot, and fled for
fear of detection. Some days after, passing through Great Hay-
woodjnear Tixall, at a late hour of the night, he was seized by the
watch, and was brought early the next morning before Sir Walter
Bagot, who took him to Stafford, where there was a meeting
of justices, in consequence of an alarm that the Papists had risen
in Derbyshire, but in his way called upon my Lord Aston at Tix-
all, to know if he would protect Dugdale as his servant, which he
refused. Hence it was not likely that Dugdale could be the de-
pository of secrets which involved the safety of his lordship and
his friends. Being come to Stafford, he took the oaths of allegi-
ance and supremacy which were tendered to him, but positively
denied any knowledge whatever of the plot. However he was
thrown into gaol by one of his creditoi's, having many debts about
the country j and being informed of the king's proclamation,
granting a free pardon and 200/. to any one who would make
discoveries relating to the Plot before the 2 5th December, then
next ensuing, he yielded to interested motives ; and on the
34th December 1678, gave information upon oath before two
justices of the peace at Stafford, to the following effect, viz. :

That he had seen Lord Stafford at Tixall, on the 20th of Sep-
tember preceding, who had informed him that there was a plan
for introducing the Catholic Religion and dethroning the king,
and that he must be parly to it ; and some days afterwards lie
further deposed, that Lord Staflbrd had offered him 5oo/. to kill
the king. At the time Dugdale made this deposition, Lord Stafford

(267 )
\vas coufined iu the Tower, where he had been committed ou the
25th October preceding, with lour otlier Roman Catholic Lords,
(the Earl of Powis, Lords Petre, Arundell, andBellasyse), on an
accusation of high treason, preferred against them by Titus Oates.
On the twenty-eighth of January 1679, Mr. William As-
ton, Lord Aston's brother, having refused to give evidence
about a wallet, said by Dugdale to have been in the closet
of the Rev. Mr. Evers, chaplain at Tixall, was taken into cus-
tody, (i) It is probable that Lord Aston was sent to the Tower
not long after j as it appears from the evidence on Lord Staf-
ford's trial, that his lordship was there in the month of January
i68o, for Dugdale mentions his going there at that time to settle
accounts with him. The 18th May of that year Lord Aston, Sir
James Simeon, Mr. Heveningham, and Mr. Peters, were in-
dicted at Westminster for high treason, and pleaded not guilty :
and on the aSth June following, were set at liberty upon bail
till the next term. (2) His lordship was taken up on the evidence
of Dugdale. There was in Tixall Bowling-green, destroyed about
thirty years ago, a shed with seats for the accommodation of the
bowlers, under the shade of a large spreading oak ; this wretch
deposed, according to the tradition of the family, that concealed
behind this tree, he had overheard a treasonable conversation of
the Lords Aston ar.d Stafford, who, under pretence of playing at
bowls, had repaired thither to plot against the government. On
the 5oth November 1680, the trial of Lord Stafford was opened
in Westminster-Hall. Dugdale deposed upon oath before the
peers, that some day in August or September 1678, he was ad-
mitted on the recommendation of Mr. Evers, the chaplain at
Tixall, to a consult there, at which assisted Lord Aston, Lord

(i) Pointer's Chronology. (2) Ibid.

KK 2

( 268 )
Stafford, and several oilier gentlemen : that they resolved iho
speediest means to introduce their religion was to take away the
king's life ; to which resolution each person present gave his
particular full assent. Lord Aston was at this time returned to
the Tower ; in the course of the trial Lord Stafford asked that his
lordship might be sent for from thence to give his evidence, which
was refused on the gi'ound of his being under a similar accusation
of high treason. The fate of this unfortunate nobleman is well
knoAvn. After a trial which lasted seven days, he was found
guilty of high treason : and on the agth December 1680, he was
beheaded on Tower-hill, (i) The dignilied firmness of his de-
meanour on this occasion, his religious resignation, and the so-
lemn protestations he made of his innocence, opened the eyes
of the deluded multitude presentj and indeed of the infatuated na-
tion; and the axe, that struck off his head, at the same time
gave the plot its death-blow. The venerable oak above-men-
tioned still lives a standing memorial of the injustice of the times
in which it flourished.

" The proceedings on the Popish Plot" says Mr. Fox, "must
always be considered as an indelible disgrace upon the English
nation ; in which king, parliament, judge, juries, witnesses, pro-
secutors, have all their respective, though certainly not equal
shares. Witnesses of such a character as not to deserve credit in
the most trifling cause, upon the most immaterial facts, gave evi-
dence so incredible, or to speak more properly, so impossible
to be true, that it ought not to have been believed if it had
come from the mouth of Cato ; and upon such evidence from
such witnesses, were innocent men condemned to death and ex-
ecuted. Prosecutors, whether attornies and solicitors-general,

(i) Sec above pp. 121, 122^ i23.

( ^Gg )
or managers of impeachmcuts, acted with the fury which in
such circumstances might be expected j juries partook naturally
enough of the national lerment ; and judges, Avhose duty it was
to guard them against such impressions, were scandalouslyaclive
in confirming them in their prejudices, and inflaming iheir pas-
sions. The king, who is supposed to have disbelieved the whole
of the plot, never once exercised his glorious prerogative of
mercy." (i)

However Lord Aston had in some degree his revenge. On the
trial of Titus Oales for perjury, which took place May g, i685j
his lordship, and his nephew Sir Edward Southcote, were sub-
pgena'd to give evidence. The object of their examination was to
prove, that Mr. Wm. Ireland, a Roman Catholic priest, who was
executed for high treason in 1678, upon the oath of Titus Oates,
was not on the first of September of that year in London, where
Oates had then swoi^n to have seen him at that time. To
this effect they depose, that in the beginning of August 1678, Mr.
Ireland came dow n to Lord Aston's, at Standon in Hertfordshire •
that on the 5th, Lord Aston took him to St. Albans, where they
met with Sir John and Lady Southcote, and their sons Sir Edward
and John Southcote ; (2) that they travelled all together to Tixall ;
that on the i5th August, they set out from Tixall to Holywell, ac-
companied by the Dowager Lady Aston, and returned thither
again on the 16th j and that on the ist of September, Ireland Was
at Mr. Gerard's, at Hilderston in S tafl"ordshire ; that he was again
at Tixall on the 8th September ; and on the gth, set out with Sir
John Southcote, and accompanied him into Surrey. In conse-
quence of this and other evidence, Oates Avas convicted of per-
jury, and was sentenced to pay a fine of two thousand marks,

(i) Hist, of James 2, p 36.

(2) " At Albery, was formerly a capital mansion-house, the residence of

( 270 )

to be imprisoned for life, to stand twice in the pillory, to be
twice publicly whipped, and afterwards to stand in the pillory
five different days in each year for the remainder of his life.

We have no record how long Lord Aston was confined in the
Tower. During part of the short reign of James II. he dis-
charged the high office of lord lieutenant of the county of Staf-
ford, and in the month of November 1688, when the Prince of
Orange had made good his landing, he and Lord Molineux threw
themselves into Chester, in oi'der to preserve it for the king. (1)
Charles, his fourth son. Captain of the band of Greemvich Pen-
sioners, was slain at the battle of the Boyne in 1690. Lord As-
ton died in 1 7 1 1\, aged 8 1 .

Walter, fourth Lord Aston, was the third son of Walter, the
third lord. His two elder brothers died unmarried in the prime

the Southcoles. The family were Romau Catholics, and are said to have
quitted in disgust, on being refused burial for one of them in the chancel,

" The house was called Albery-place, and was taken down iu i-5o.
The chapel is said to have been very splendid. The loss of this family was
long felt iu the parish, and a grateful remembrance of their extensive
charities has been handed down to the present day. During their resi-
dence no calamity or casualty happened to an individual ; no unproduc-
tive season occasioned a scarcity, but ready assistance was given. The
last Lady Southcote is said to have been constantly stationed, at certaia
well known times, on her garden terrace overlooking the road, prepared
to hear every petition, and to answer every claim on her benevolence.

" Such," adds the present worthy Rector in giving this account, " was
the family to whom burial in the church was refused, because they were
Roman Catholics !" — Manuiugs's Surrey, vol. 2, p. 260.

Lady Southcote, wife of Sir John above-mentioned, was eldest daughter
of Walter, second Lord Aston, and of Lady Mary Weston, Earl of Port-
land, lord high treasurer, and sister of Walter, third Lord Aston.

(i) Lysoa's Cheshire, p. 590.

( 271 )

of life. He was born about the year 1661, and resided chiefly
at Staudon Lordship. The severity of the penal laws against Ca-
tholicSj (which in their sanguinary provisions, have never been
equalled since the days of Draco) together with the obloquy
which had fallen on the followers of the ancient religion which
he professed, compelled him, like his father, to live in privacy
and retirement : but these untoward circumstances, common to
him, and to many others of the oldest and most illustrious fami-
lies in this realm, did not prevent him

" la the calm majesty of private life,"

from exercising all the virtues which can adorn and ennoble such
a station.

He married Mary, only daughter of Lord Thomas Howard,
and sister to Thomas and Edward, Dukes of Norfolk, and died
in 1747.(1)

James, fifth Lord Aston, was the fifth son and youngest
child of Walter, the fourth lord. This nobleman was re-
markable for his good humour and easy temper, and for his af-
fability and condescension to all ranks of people. He died in
August 1751(2) of the small pox, which he caught in attending
the funeral of a friend at Stafford. The symptoms of the disor-
der were uncommonly violent ; which, together with the mode
of treatment practised in those days, soon brought him to an
untimely grave. He had married in 1744> Lady Barbara Tal-
bot, eldest daughter of George, 14th Earl of Shrewsbury, by
Mary, daughter of Thomas, Viscount Fitzwilliam, of the king-
dom of Ireland. By this lady, who survived him, and died at
Paris in 1759, he had tAvo daughters and coheiresses : 1. IMary,
married in 1766 to Sir Walter Blount, Bart, of Soddington and

(i) Erroneously, 1744, in Genealogy, p. i53.
(2) Erron. 1749. Ibid.

(272 )

Mawley, co. Wore. 2. Barbara, married in 1761, to the Hon.
Thomas Clifford, youngest son of Hugh, third Lord Clifford, of
Chudleigh in Devonshire.

Loi'd Aston was interred in the church of St. Mary's, Stafford,
in the burying place of the Aston family, which is situated near
the north door, and protected by an iron railing.

On a flat stone on the pavement is this inscription :

Here lieth the body of the Right Hon. James Lord Aston of
Tixall, Baron of Forfar, who died Aug. ao, 1751, aged 28.

Adjoining is a very handsome monument of various coloured
marbles, by the skilful hand of James Moore of London. In the
lower part is a large tablet of white mai'ble, on which is the fol-
lowing inscription :

Sacred to the memory of the Hon. Barbara Clifford, youngest
daughter and coheiress to James, Lord Aston • a faithful, pa-
tient, compliant wife, a tender and affectionate mother, an in-
dulgent careful mistress, giving good example to her children
and family by her piety, mildness, and good natuz'Cj humane,
charitable, benevolent, and compassionate to the poor. En-
dowed with every virtue and good quality that adorns her sex.
She was a pattern for all wives and mothers ; and leaving a nu-
mei'ous family of twelve children : she died after a miscarriage,
the 2d August 1786, aged 5g years. — R. I. P.

Above the tablet is a pyramid of dove-coloured marble, in
front of which is a sarcophagus, resting on the tablet, whereon
is this inscription :

This monument was erected by order of the Hon. Thomas

(275)

Clifford to the memory of the Hon. Barbara Clifford, his be-
loved wife, whom he survived but teu months and sixteen days.
His life was a pattern of every social and moral virtue, and his
death of heroic patience, z'esignation, and Christian piety. —
Aged 54 years. — R. I. P.

At the further end is a monument to the memory of the Hon.
Lady Blount. A sarcophagus of white marble supports a Phoenix
rising out of flames, very boldly executed. Behind is a pyra-
mid of black marble, on which is inscribed in gold letters :

Mary, eldest daughter and coheiress of James, fifth Lord
Aston. Born Aug. 14, 1743. Married Sept. 21, 1766, to Sir
Walter Blount, Bart. — Perished by fire Jan. 3o, i8o5. — R. I. P.

Matri pientissimse Georgius filius natu minimus mterens
posuit.

On the Sarcophagus are inscribed the following lines :

The fabled bird, who, when his days expire.
Soars from his funeral pile on wings of fire,
Too true an emblem on this tomb appears
Of her, whose fate still claims our tenderest tears.
But though our deep-struck bosoms bleed anew.
Whene'er this mournful monument we view.
Yet Faith will teach us, weeping o'er her shrine,
To lift our thoughts to images divine —
Enflam'd with heavenly zeal for things above,
She lived and died a holocaust of love ;
Cleans'd from all dross, to her pure soul 'twas given
To rise a flaming sacrifice to heaven.

A.C.

On the death of James, fifth Lord Aston, without male issue,

Ll

( 274)

the title reverted to the descendants of William Aston of Mil-
wich, fourth son of Sir Edward Aston, Knt. and uncle of Walter
the first lord.

Thus ended this ancient line, which for the space of more than
5oo years, was continued from father to son, through 1 8 gene-
rations : fi'om Pvalph de Aston, who flourished about the middle
of the i5th century, down to James, fifth LordAston, who died
in 1751 ; and whose grandson still possesses the property at Hay-
wood, granted about the year 1280 to Roger de Aston, the se-
cond, upon record of that family — two circumstances, scarcely
to be paralleled in the history of genealogical descents in this
kingdom.

The arms of this family have always been argent, a fess, and
three lozenges in chief, sable. (1) The ancient crest, was, on a
thin velamen, or bonnet, gules turned up ermine, a bull's horns,
argent, pointed or, tipped sable.

This was afterwards changed to the following :

On a wreath of his colour, a bull's head couped, or, armed
argent, the tips of his horns sable.

The supporters — two Poman knights, in their proper arma-
ment, face, hands, and knees bare ; with round bucklers on their
exterior arms ; their scabbards, sable, sword-hilts and chapes, or.

(i) Robert Aston, second son of Roger and Sybilla, had for his arms ar-
gent, a fess and two ogresses in chief, sable. — (Chetw. MS.) — In an an-
cient heraldic MS. given in the Antiquarian Repository', vol. 1, p. 81,
which contains the arms of ancient nobility in the time of Henry III. the
arms of Sir John de Aston of Northamptonshire, who was probably the
elder brother of Roger de Aston, are slated to be sable, a saltier argent.
The arms of Aston of Cheshire are sable and argent, party per chevron.
These slight variations in arms to distinguish the diflereut branches of a fa-
mily were very common, before the heralds adopted the label, crescent,
mullet, etc. for that purpose.

(275)

The moito taken by the first lord, was Spanish : Contra el ra-
pido muevo : I move against the torrent : by which he probably
alluded to the numerous obstacles he met with, in the conduct of
the mysterious business of his first embassy to Spain.

This was afterwards changed to Numini et Patrice Asto : I
stand up for God and my country — a motto, which, while it con-
tains an allusion to the name of Aston, is happily expressive of
that heroic sentiment, by which, those who have borne it, ap-
pear to have been uniformly actuated and guided in every situa-
tion and emergency of their lives.

( 277 )

ZOOLOGY

O F

T I X A L L,

AND ITS IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

QUADRUPEDS.

Bos Taurus. Chartley-park, about four miles from Tixallj is
among the few places where the indigenous wild cattle of Britain
are still to be found. The breed has been here presened pure
and unmixed, having been constantly confined in a separate in-
closure. The following external appearances distinguish these
cattle fromall other kinds : their colour is invariably white^ muz-
zles and ears black, horns white tipt with black. This native
"wildness appears at the first approach of men ; the whole herd in-
stantly sets off full speed to a considerable distance, and then
wheels round, at the same time staring with eager curiosity.

Cervus Elaphus, the Stag. Cervus Dama, the Fallow Deer.
About twenty- five years ago, Tixall Park was inhabited by
about twenty stags and hinds, and more than two hundred head
of fallow deer. A few stags were also kept at that time in Wolse-
ley Park. But their ferociousness at the rutting season, the
coarseness of their flesh, and the quantity of food they cousmne.

(278 )
have caused ihem gradually to disappear throughout England.
In the highlands of Scotland, herds of four or five hundred head
are still to be met with^ ranging at full liberty over the vast hills
of the North. The fallow deer at Tixall were celebrated for
the fineness of their flavour, but were destroyed some years ago
to make room for more useful animals : they were ot the dark
brown species, which are said to have been introduced here by
James I. out of Norway. Fallow deer are hardly known in
France, and are never kept for the purposes of the table ; indeed
this is the only country were they are confined in parks. Many
hundreds of them stray unrestrained over the neighbouring forest
of Cannock, and commit their depredations on the adjoining in-
closures with impunity, (i)

Ovis Aries. Flocks of sheep of Merino, and Anglo-Merino
breed, were introduced here some years since from the admired
flocks of Lord Somerville and Mr. Toilet. On the superior fine-
ness of their fleeces it is unnecessary to expatiate • but its not yet
suflicienlly known, that this is a very hardy race of animals, not
much afi'ected by severe cold, nor nice in its food, nor of diffi-
cult parturition. Its mutton is exquisitely delicate.

Mustela Lulra, the Otter. The waters in Tixall are much in-
fested with this animal, so destructive to fish. By the spoils
which are sometimes found on the water-side, it is evident that
they feed on fish of the largest size. An otter, was one morning
surprised on the banks of the navigable canal, just as he had
drawn out of the water an eel of unusual magnitude. Perceiv-

(i) Dr. Plot informs us, (Hist, of Staff, cli. 7, § ■^8) that ia his memory
an itinerant dromedary died at Tixall, through the negligence of his keeper,
" and was buried (where he died) in Tixall Field," (a large commoa
field lying towards Haywood, now inclosed and subdivided) " whose bones
hereafter, if ever found, may create much wonder."

(^79)
ing himself discovered^ he had only lime to bile off the head of
his prey, and to make his escape. The eel was served up the
same day to a large company, who had never been supplied be-
fore by so uncommon a caterer.

Lepus Timidus. The hare abounds in this parish, which from
its numerous and well disposed plantations, the dryness of its
soil, and its southern aspect, is admirably calculated for the pre-
servation of every species of game. It is not unusual here at one
point of viewj to see fifteen or twenty of these timid animals dis-
porting together.

Lepus Cuniculus. The rabbits in this parish are too nume-
rous in some parts, and the frequent attempts which have been
made to extirpate them, have never been crowned with complete
success. They do infinite mischief in young plantations in se-
vere weather, by barking the trees, and biting off the leading
shoots.

Mustela Erminea. The stoat is the natural enemy of the two
last mentioned species : it infests the woods of Tixall. A large
hare was one day observed hurrying across the lawn with the ut-
most terror and precipitation, bearing one of these cruel blood-
suckers on her back, with its claws entangled in her fur, and its
mouth affixed to her side —

Non missura cutem uisi plena cruoris.

The terrified animal would probably continue to run till she
dropped down dead with fatigue and loss of blood.

Sciurus Vulgaris. The squirrel enlivens the woods by his grace-
ful and rapid movements ; he is accused however of doing much
injury to fir plantations, by nipping the leading shoots of the
young pines.

Equus Caballus. There is a breed of black draught horses in
this part of the country, strong and bony, of which the farmers

( 280 )

are extremely proud ; but they waut activity, and consume a great
deal of food.

BIRDS.

Faico Chrysactos. Tlie golden eagle : one of these birds was
killed some years ago on Cannock Chace, by Sir Edward Litde-
ton's keeper.

Strix flammea. The white owl is the constant tenant of the ve-
nerable ruins above described —

From the ivy-mantled tower
The moping owl doth to the moon complain
Of such, as wandering near her secret bower
Molest her antient solitary reign.

Phasianus Colchicus. The pheasant, till of late years, was
hardly knOAvn in Staffoi-dshire, and many attempts had been
made to introduce them, but without success. In the first volume
of Shaw's StafTordshii'e, published in 1798, it is mentioned as a
very rare bird. Just about that time, the present owner of Tixall,
turned out a couple of cocks and four hens in a protected copse
near the house ; they throve wonderfully, and at the present day
have not only abundantly peopled the parish, but also all the
neighbouring manors.

Tetrao Tetrix. The black grous inhabits the dreary wastes of
Cannock Chace, and is found also in Wolseley and Charlley
Parks, and in a long tract of boggy land, called Chartley Moss,

Perdix Cinerea. The partridge abounds in the cultivated
grounds of Tixall and the adjoining manors, and aiTords ample
diversion in the winter season to the lovers of the gun.

Perdix Coturnix. The quail is extremely rare in these parts.
In i8o4, a solitary bevy made its appearance in Tixall parish.

Loxia Coccothraustes. Haw Grosbeak. This rare bird emi-

{28l )

grated into Staffordshire in the year 1796^ and some of them were
seen in the plantations of Lord Harrowby at Sandon.

Caprimulgus Europseus. The goat-sucker occasionally visits
the Black Heath and its environs. Its notes are most singular :
the loudest resembles that of a large spinning wheel ; and the
noise is so very violent as to give a sensible vibration to any little
building on which it chances to alight. Its other note is a shai'p
squeak, which it repeats often when in pursuit of the female. —
(Peimant's Zoology, vol. 1.)

AQUATIC BIRDS.

The situation of Tixall parish, bounded by two rivers, and in-
tersected by a navigable canal, which is expanded into a large
lake, (besides a considerable pool in the park) renders it the
resort of various water fowl. The fallowing are among the most
remarkable :

Ardea Cinerae. The heron infests the wateis of Tixall, being
a great destroyer of fish. Hunting herons with hawks was a fa-
vourite diversion of our ancestors. The heron was then accounted
a bird of game, and laws were enacted for its preservation. Any
person destroying its eggs was liable to a penally of twenty shil-
lings for each offence. It was then served up as a delicacy at great
tables. This bird has a bed of black feathers below the wings,
very long, soft and elegant, which are frequently used to orna-
ment the caps of the knights of the Garter. — (Pennant's Zoology,
vol. 2, p. 425.)

Ardea .stellaris. The bittern has sometimes been seen here.
Its flesh is said to be | referable to that of the heron j and it is
often exposed to sale by the London poulterers.

Scolopax Rusticola. The woodcock becomes more scarce here
every year. So much land has been drained in this parish of

Mm

( ,8-2 )

late years, that there is hardly any to be found of that wet springy
ground, which they chiefly delight in. They are still plentiful iu
Lord Bagot's woods, and the woodlands about Cheadle.

Scolopax Gallinago, the Snipe. Scolopax Gallinula, Jack
Snipe. Large flights of these birds are often seen in the mea-
dows between the navigable canal and the river Sow.

Tringa Vauellus. The lapwing.

Charadrius Pluvialis. The golden plover.

Rallus Aquaticus. The water-rail.

Fulica Chloropus. The water-hen, or moor-hen.

FuIIca Atra. The coot.

Rallus Crex. The land-rail.

Colymbus Auritus. The little grebe, or dab-chick.

Mergus Merganser. The goosander.

Anas Cygnus, the Swan. This noble bird abounds on the ri-
vers Trent and Sow, and the navigable canal before Tixall.

with arched neck

Between her white wings mantHug, proudly roAvs
Her state with oary feet. — Par. Lost. b. 7.

Each proprietor of the river has a certain number of swans be-
longing to him, which are distinguished by one or more notches
or nicks on the beak. Those belonging to Tixall have a notch
on each side the beak near the point. Formerly the king's
swans were marked with two nicks on the beak, and a royal swan
was called a swan with two nicks : hence probably came the
sign of the Swan with two Necks, just as the Bell Savage, (a
black woman with a bell) the Bull and Gate, and Bull and Mouth,
came from the Belle Saia-age, Boulogne Gate, and Boulogne
Mouth. These swans ai-e in a wild state, having no food given
ihem in the severest winter. Twenty or thirty are sometimes
seen clustered together in the Trent near Wolseley Bridge.

(285 }

The swans in pairing time are very vicious and light furiously ;
the weaker bird being di'iven to a distance, and one of the comba-
tants is frequently killed, or escapes with a broken wing. The
pen lays from 5 to 8 or g eggs, and makes her nest near the river,
just out of the reach of the floods ; the common people observe
the position of these nests, and whenever they find them placed
very near the river, they augur fi'om thence that there will be no
spring floods that year.

The swan was formerly a royal bird, and the species was pre-
served by severe penalties. In those days it graced the tables of
the great. Cygnets are to this day fattened at Norwich about
Christmas, and sold for a guinea a piece

As the note of the swan is extremely harsh and disagreeable,
it is surprizing that they should have been celebrated not only by
the poets but the naturalists in ancient times for the music of
their voice, which was supposed to be most melodious in their
dying moments. In consequence of this idea, swans are often in
their writings compared to poets : Horace calls Pindar the Dir-
cean Swan,

Multa Diraecum levat aura cygiium. — Od. i, lib. 4-

and in another place, seized with a poetical oestrum, imagines
himself to be coverel with the snowy plumage of this favourite
bird. — Lib. 2, Od. 20. Pennant, in his Zool. vol. 2, p. 567, ac-
counts for this idea, from the belief entertained by the antients
that the body of the swan, according to the Pythagorean doc-
trine of the ti'ansmigration of souls, was allotted for the mansion
of the departed poet ; but for what reason swans were thus fa-
voured, remains to be explained.

Anas INigra. Black diver, or scoter.

Anas Clangula. Golden eye.

(284)

AnasBoschas. The wild duck, or mallard.

AnasPeuelops. The wigeon.

Anas Crecca. The teal.

Pelecanus Carbo. The corvorant, or cormorant.

Some of the birds here mentioned only make their appear-
ance in very severe winters.

There is also a kind of wild goose brought from the Cape, by
Mr. Thomas Anson, (I believe, the Anas Cana of Linnaeus) which
has multiplied, and is now naturalized to this neighbourhood.

FISH.

The best sorts of fish found in the rivers Trent and Sow are
pike, perch, eel, and gudgeons in plenty j more rare are trout,
grayling and burbot ; and carp and tench, with which the naviga-
ble canal is plentifully stocked, are very scarce in these rivers.
Crayfish arc found in the brooks which come from Cannock
Chace. Lamperns are also taken in the Sow; and both rivers
abound with the coarser sorts offish, such as barbel, chub, roach,
dace, bleak J and with the smaller sorts, as loach, minow, ruflf,
and bull-head. The pike grow to a large size ; one was taken out
of the navigable canal on Shrove-Tuesday 1804, Avhich weighed
24 pounds. Its back was flat and broad like a Leicestershire
sheep, and its flesh was remarkably firm and delicious to the
taste. The burbot is highly esteemed, but is extremely rare.

( 285)

FLORA TIXALLIANA;

O R,

A CATALOGUE

Of the most remarkable phaenogamous Plants, to be found withia a
morning's ride of Tixall.

The celebratedDr. Withering, whoseHistory of Indigenous Bo-
tany has principally contributed to propagate in this country
the study of that delightful science^ began his medical career at
Stafford j where getting very slowly into employment, (the com-
mon fate of most young physicians) he devoted his leisure hours
to the study of vegetable natui'e, and left no part of that neigh-
bourhood unexplored. To the little success he met with in the
outset of his profession, is the world indebted for his valuable
work, The Botanical AiTangements. From this woi'k are taken
the articles in the following List, marked With. To which are
added, many communications by the present owner of Tixall,
marked T. C. and some other persons. Among these many ac-
knowledgements are due to Mr. Forster, surgeon, of Stone, who
to the merit of a very skilful practitioner, adds that of a scientific
botanist. In this catalogue, the classification of Dr. Smith, in
his Floi-a Britannica, is followed instead of that of Thunberg,

( 286 )
which has been adopted by Withering, but which appears too
violent a departure from the system of the immortal Linuteus.

MONANDRIA.

Monogynia. Hippuris vulgaris. Mare's tail. Paddow Pipe.
This flower is the simplest of all the phsenogamous plants,
having neither calyx nor corolla ; and only one stamen, one pis-
til, and one seed. Muddy ponds and ditches j not common.
About a mile from Stafford, in ditches adjoining the foot-road
lo Aston. With. On the road about half way between Stafford
and Newport. T. C. May.

Chara vulgaris. Common S tonewort. Stinking Water Horse-
tail. Ditches and pools. Marl Pit, near Stafford. July, August.

Chara hispida. Prickly Stone-wort. At the bottom of a
spring in a meadow near Gayton. With. June, Oct.

DIANDRIA.

Monogynia. Circeea Lutetiana. Inchanter's Nightshade.
Woods and shady lanes. Bricklawn Coppice, Tixall. T. G.
June, July.

Veronica arvensis. Wall Speedwell. Black Heath, Tixall.
T. C. May.

V. serpyllifolia. Smooth Speedwell. Shrubbery, Tixall. T. C.
May.

V. officinalis. Common Speedwell. Tixall Park. T. C.
May, Aug.

V. beccabunga, Brooklime. Brook by Tixall church-yard.
T. C. June.

V. anagallis. Var. i . Corolla of a beautiful pink. Cow Lea-
sow Ditch, Tixall. T. C. June a. July, Aug.

( 287 )

V. scutellaia. Narrow leaved Speedwell. Poor swampy
soil. Cannock Heath. T. C. June, Aug.

V. agrestis. Germander. Kitchen garden, Tixall. T. C.
April.

V. hedersefolia. Ivy leaved Speedwell. Old Pits, above the
Rough Croft, Tixall. T. C. April, May.

Pinguicula vulgaris. Butterwort. A boggy valley on Can-
nockHeath, nearly opposite to Tixall gate. June 20, i8i 1. T. C.
Jmie, July.

Lycopus Europaeus. Water Horehound. In the moat at the
Clifford Arms, Great Haywood. T. C. July, Sept.

TRIANDRIA.

Monogynia. Valerina officinalis. Great Avild Valerian.
Brimsey Meadows, Haywood. T. C. June.

Valeriana dioica. Marsh Valerian. Common in marshy mea-
dows about Stone. Mr. Forster, June, July.

V. locusta. Lamb's Lettuce. Corn Sallad, common in corn
fields. Hitchen Hill enclosures. T. C. April, July.

Crocus nudifloi'us. Naked flowering Crocus. Woolstan-
ton. Rev. T. Butt. This species does not appear to have been
known to Dr. Withering, as an indigenous plant. October.

Iris Pseudacorus. Yellow flag. Navigation bank, Tixall.
T. C. July.

Eriophorum angustifolium. Cotton-grass. Great Brimsey,
Haywood, near the road. T. C. June.

Scirpus palustris. Club-rush. Banks of rivers and ponds^
frequent. Near Stafford. With. July.

S. csespiiosus. Dwarf Club-rush. Black Heath, Tixall, T. C.
June.

S. mariiimus. Saltmarsh Club-grass. Shirely Wich. "With.

( 288 )
August. In the different saltmarshes in the neighbourhood of
Tixall, are to be found, this and many other maritime plants, (as
will be seen lower down) which have been generally supposed to
grow only on the sea coast.

Schgenus albus. "White flowered Piush-grass. Charlley Moss.
Lord Bagot. July, September.

Digynia. Briza media. Quaking-grass. Brancot Alders,
Tixall. T. C. June.

Trigynia. Montia fontana. Small Water Chickweed. Purslane.
Springs and watery places j wet ploughed fields. Tixall Ley
Park. T. C.

TETRANDRIA.

Monogynia. Dipsacuspilosus. Small Teasel, Shepherd's Staff.
At Walton near the Bridge ; and the Mill Moors near Stone. For-
ster. July, August.

Sherardia arvensis. Little Field Madder. Perry's Farm,
Tixall, T. C. May, September.

Galium uliginosum. Rough Marsh Bed-straw. Salthealh, near
the clump, east. T. C. May.

G. cruciatum. Cross-wort. Hedge banks, Tixall ; very
common. T. C.

G. Aparine. Goose-grass. Cleaves. Common in hedges,
Tixall. T. C. May, June.

G. palustre. White Water Bed-straw. Poplar beds near Mil-
ford aqueduct. T. C. June.

Sanguisorba officinalis. Great Burnet. Poplar beds Tixall,
T.C. Marly soils about Stafford. With.

Parietaria officinalis. Pellitory of the wall. By the cause-
way at the Foregate Stafford. Forster. June, September.

Cornus sanguinetx. Wild Cornel-tree. Dog-wood. Hollow-
way, Tixall. Coiey-lane. T. C. June.

( 289)

Alchemilla vulgaris. Bear's Foot. Common ladies'-manlle.
Meadows and pastures. Tixall. T. C. June, September.

Alchemilla arvensis. Parsley Piert. Corn fields, Brancot.
T. C. May, August. This plant is made a separate genus by Wi-
thering, under the name of Aphanes Arvensis, and is ranged in
tlie class Monandria.

Asperula odorata. Sweet Woodroof. Woods and shady
lanes about Stone. Forster. May, June.

PENTANDRIA.

Monogynia. Myosotis scorpioides. Mouse-ear Scorpion-
grass. The different varieties very common about Tixall. T.C.
A beautiful variety with a white flower, in the woods at Darlas-
ton. Forster. May, July.

Lithospermum officinale. Common Gromwell Gi'ay Mill,
Statford-castle church-yard. Forster. May.

Anchusa semper-virens. Ever-green Alkanet. Among the
the old ruins at Tixall, T. C. May, July.

Cynoglossum officinale. Hound's Tongue. In the lane be-
tween Tixall and Hoo Mill. T. C. June.

Symphytum officinale. Common Comfrey. In meadows
near Stone. Forster. May, June.

Lycopsis ai'vensis. Small Bugloss. Ruins at Tixall ; Berry-
hill piece, do. T. C. June, July.

Echium vulgara. Blue Viper's bugloss. Very rare in Stafford-
shire : in Stafl'ord town field. Mr John Diclienson. June^July.

Primula vulgaris. Primrose. Very common about Tixall.
T. C. April

Pr. veris. Cowslip. At Colcy. T. C. April.

Menyanthes trifoliata. Buck Beau. Marsh Trefoil. In ponds
about Wolseley. R. Wolseley. June, July. This is one of the
most beautiful of all our native flowers.

Nn

( 290 )

Lysimachia Yulgains. Yellow Loose-strife. Haywood Wharf.
T. C. June, July.

Lys. Nemorum. Wood Loose-strife. Yellow Pimpernel. In
shady lanes near Stone. Forster. May, Sept.

Lys. Nummularia. Money-wort. Drains in CowLeasow, Tixall.
T. C. June.

Anagallis arvensis. IMale Pimpernel. Corn fields, Tixall.
Very common. T. C. June, July. Every part of this plant is
singularly beautiful, and deserves to be minutely examined.

Anag. tenella. Bog Pimpernel. Chartley Moss. T. C. Can-
nock Heath. With. T. C. July. Aug.

Convolvules sepium. Great Bindweed. Crabtree Stocks Hedge,
Tixall. T. C. July, August.

Campanula rotundifolia. Round leaved Bell-flower. Very
common. T. C. August, October.

Camp, patula. Spreading Bell-flower. In the neighbour-
hood of Lichfield. Mr. Saville. July, August.

Camp, latifolia. Giant Bell-flower. On banks of marl at
Burton, one mile south of Slafl'ord. With. Common about Stone.
In a wood near Meaford Farm ; a very handsome variety. Flower
nearly white with a purple eye. Forster. August.

Viola hirta. Hairy Violet. Near the old avenue at Sandon.
Forster. April.

V. odorata. Sweet Violet. Walk above the Rough Croft,

Tixall. T. C. March, April.

V. palustris. Marsh Violet. In most bogs where Drosera and
Anagallis Tenella grow. Forster. April.

V. canina. Dog's Violet. Very common in shady places.
T. C. April, June.

V. tricolor. Heart's Ease. Common. Var. 2. of With-
Grows in Haywood Park. T. C. May, September.

Verbascum Thapsus. Great white Mullein. Stafford-lane,
near the turnpike J Berry-hill, Tixall. T. C. July.

( 291 )

Hyoscyamusniger. Common Hen-bane. At Stafford-castle.
Forster. July.

Atropa Belladonna. Deadly Nightshade, said to have been
found at Stafford-castle. Forster. June. The two Linnaean.
names of this plant merit explanation. Its generic name is indi-
cative of its poisonous qualities, from Atropos, one of the Parc£e,
or fatal sisters, whose employment was to cut the thread of hu-
man life ; its specific name, Belladonna, was given to it from
its Laving been used by the Italian ladies as a cosmetic.

Solanum dulcamara. Woody Nightshade. Hedges in Hoo
MiU-lane. Tixall. T. C. June, July.

Sol. nigrum. Garden Nightshade. Several places about
Stone. Forster. June, September.

Chironia Centaurium. Lesser Centory. Berry-hill, Tixall.
T. C. June, September.

Samolus valerandi. Round leaved water Pimpernel. Tixall
saltmarsh. T. C June, July.

Lonicera periclymenum. Common Honey-suckle or Wood-
bine. Hedges, Tixall. T. C. May, July.

Rhamnus catharticus. Buckthorn. In a hedge near Small
Rise. Foi'ster. May, June.

Ribes grossularia. Rough Goose-berry : Fea-berry. Hedges
nearPenkridge. T. C. April.

Hedera helix. Ivy. Very luxuriant on Tixall Gatehouse.
T. C. October.

Glaux mariiima. Sea Milkwort : Black Saltwort, Tixall,
saltmarsh. T. C. June, July. The immense drains made by
Lord Talbot in the adjoining saltmarsh of Ingestrie, for the pur-
pose of carrying off the salt spring, may probably destroy this
and other marine plants.

Vinca minor. Lesser Periwinkle, At Wolseley near the turn-
pike road. A purple variety at Walton near Stone, on the banks

( 292 )

of the Trent, with both double and single flowers. Forstcr.
May, June.

Digynia. Ulmus campestris. Elm. Cow Leasow, Tixall.
T. C.

Ulmus montana. Broad leaved Elm : Wych-elm. A fine one
on the east of Tixall house. One much larger west of the farm-
yard. T. C. April, May.

Gentiana campestris. Field Gentian. On bur stone walls near
Wolseley bridge. R. Wolseley. August, October.

Hydrocotyle vulgaris. Marsh Pennywort. White Rot.
Bogs on Cannock Heath, and Salt Heath, Tixall. May, July.

Samicula Europaea. Wood Sanicle. Woods and thickets,
Crab-tree Stocks, Tixall. T. C. May, June.

Daucus Carota. Wild Carrot. Bird's IVest. Common about
Tixall. T. C. June, August. The garden carrot is no other
than this plant in a cultivated state. Daucus maritiraus is
only a variety of this. Dr. Smith. It is remarkable, how many
of our best vegetables have been imported into our kitchen gar-
dens from the sea coast : such as the plant in question, cabbage,
beet-root, asparagus, sea-kale, pea, etc.

Bumium flexuosum. Pignut, Earth Chesnut. Cow Leasow,
Tixall. T. C. May, June.

Conium maculatum. Hemlock. Perry's Brook meadow, Tix.
T. C. June, July.

Slum angustifolium. Narrow leaved water Parsnip. Skerret.
Kiugston-pool. With. July, September.

Sium iiodiflorura. Creeping water Parsnip. In brooks about
Tixall. T. C. July, August. The expressed juice was often
prescribed by Dr. Withering, for cutaneous disorders.

Cicuta vii'osa. Long leaved water Hemlock, water Cow-bane.
This plant is luckily very rare, being one of the most virulent of

( 295 )
the vegetable poisons. It is found in Kingston Pool. With.
July, August.

Scandix odorata. Sweet Cicely, Great Chervil. Waste places,
but always near houses. At Tixall. With. June.

Sc. Pecten. Venus 's Comb. Corn fields about Tixall. T. C.
June, July.

Sc. Cerefolium. Common Chervil. Tixall village. T. C.
May.

Chaerophyllum silvestre. Wild Cicely, Cow-weed. Sliady
places about Tixall house, common. T. C. May.

Trigynia. Viburnum oputus. Common guelder Rose, water
Elder. I'ixall Hollow-way. T. C. May, June.

Sambucus Ebulus. Dwarf Elder, Banewort. In the lane
below Tixall house. T. C In the road near Rugeley, plenti-
fully. Forster. July.

Samb. nigra. Common Elder. One of very large circum-
ference grows in front of Tixall house, on the rising ground to
the east. April, May.

Tetragynia. Parnassia paluslris. Grass of Parnassus. Bogs
near Wolseley. R. Wolseley. August, October.

Pentagynia. Linum catharticum. Purging-flax. Cannock
Heath. T. C May, July.

Drosera Rotundifolia. Round leaved Sun-dew. Red-rol, Chart-
ley Moss ; Salt Heath ; east near the Clump ; Boggy-dell on
Cannock Heath, opposite Tixall gate. T. C. July, August.

Drosera longifolia. Long leaved Sun-dew. Rare. Charlley
Moss. Lord Bagot. See in Withering, a curious account of the
fly-catching quality of these plants.

Polygynia. Myosm'us minimus. Mouse-tail. In a cart rut in
Tixall field farm. T. C. May, June.

(294)

HEXANDRIA.

Monogynia. Fritillaria Meleagris. Fritillary. A white
flowered variety in great abundance in a meadow on the right
side of the road leading from Wolseley Bridge to Stafford, not a
quarter of a mile from the bridge. May 7, 1787. With. Found
there many years afterwards. Forster. April, May.

Ornithogalum umbellatum. Star of Bethlehem. Near Bella"
mour house J Hill Walk, Tixall. April, June.

Narthecium ossifragum. Lancashire Asphodel. Very beau-
tiful and rare. Char tley Moss. LordBagot. July, August.

Acorus calamus. Sweet Flag. In the Trent near Darlaston
Bridge. Mr. Forster. June.

Scilla nutans. Harebell. Berry-hill, in great abundance.
Clover-grass Gate, Tixall. T. C. May.

Tiigynia. Rumex acetosella. Sheep's Sorrel, Black-hill, San-
don-hall. T. C. May, June.

Triglochin maritimum. Sea Arrow-grass. Saltmarsh near In-
gestrie. With. Tixall saltmarsh. T. C. May, August.

Polygynia. Alisma planiago. Water Plantain. Broad- water
ditches at Tixall. T. C July, August.

Alisma ranunculoides. Small water Plantain. In Rome
Pool on Knighdey Common, near the Gorze. Forster. Au-
gust. *

OCTANDRIA.

Monogynia. Epilobium hirsutum. Great Willow-herb. Cod-
lings and Cream. Navigation and river banksj Tixall. T. C
July.

Ep. parvifloinim. Small flowered Willow-herb. Ibid. T. C
July, August.

Ep. palustre. Marsh Willow-herb. Moist places about Tix.
T. C. July.

Acer Pseudo-platanus. Sycamore. Lane leading from Tixall
to Slaftbrd. T. C. May, June. In the north of England it is
called Plane.

Acer Campestre. Maple. In the upper part of Tixall Park,
near Ingestrie, are some large maples, which appear to be of great
age. One of these, which has hai-dly any boughs of its own, has
given root in its decayed state to a luxui'iant elder, and blooms
again with borrowed honours —

Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma. — ^Virc.

Chlora perfoliata. Perforated Yellow- wort, Yellow Centaury.
Ronton-abbey near Stafford. With. June, September.

Vaccinium myrtillus. Bilberries. Black Heath, Tixall. T. G.
April, May.

Vacc. Vitis-idsea. Red Whortle-berries. Cannock Heath, in
a dry gravel. With. March, April.

V. Oxycoccos. Cranberries. Chartley Moss. LordBagot. June.

Erica tetral'x. Cross leaved Heath. Cannock Heath. T. C.
July.

E. vulgaris. Common heath. Ling. Black Heath, Tixall,
T. C. June, August.

E. cinerea. Fine leaved Heath. Ibid, T. C. August.

Daphne laureola. Spring Laurel. In afield called the Shoals,
at Coley near Tixall. T. C. March, April.

Trigynia. Polygonum amphibium. Narrow leaved Pond-
weed, Old Moat, near Clifford Arms, Haywood. T. C. June,
July,

(296)

Polyg. Persicaria. Spotted Snakeweed. Navigation Bank
Tixall. T. C. July, September.

Pol. Bistorta. Great Snakeweed . Near the Infirmary, Stafford.
With. Meadow behind the Parsonage. Tixall. T. C. June.

P. aviculare. Knot-grass. At Tixall, passim. T. C. P. brevi-
folium J a variety. Leaves oblong, stamens 7. Sandy road near
Ingestrie Heath. With. April, September.

P. Convolvulus. Black Bindweed. Cornfields and hedges,
Tixall. T. C. June, September.

Tetragynia. Paris quadrifolia. Herb Paris. Woods near
Stone. Forster. May, June.

Adoxa moschatellina. Tuberous moschatell. Under trees in
wet ground behind Tixall church-yard, west. May, June.

ENNEANDRIA.

Hexagynia. Butomus umbellatus. Flowering Rush. Wa-
ter Gladiole. Navigation Bank, Tixall. T. C. In the Penk at
Rickerscote near Stafford. Mr. J. Dickenson. June. This is
the only known plant of English growth belonging to the class
Enneandria.

DECANDRIA.

Monogynia. Andromeda polifolia. Marsh Cistus. Chartley
Moss, Lord Bagot. June.

Digynia. Chrysosplenium alternifolium. Alternate leaved
Golden Saxifrage. At Moddershall. Forster. May.

Chrysoplenium oppositijolium. Golden Saxifrage. Brook
at Oakedge near Wolseley Bridge. T. C April, May.

Saxifraga grauulata. White Saxifrage. Meadows near Lich-
field, plentiful. Forster. May.

( "^97 )

Sax. tridactylites. Rue "Whitlow Grass. On the old ruins,
Tixall. April, May.

Saponaria officinalis. Soapwort. In the hedge by the road-
side at Sandon, on the road to Hilderston. Forster. Angust,
September.

Trigynia. Silena inflata. Bladder Campion. Cornfields^
Tixall. T. C. July.

Stellaria holostea. Greater Stitchwort. Grabtree Stocks
Tixall. T. C. April, May.

Arenaria marina. Sea Spurrey. In a saltmarsh near Shirley-
wich. With. May, October.

Pentagynia. Seduni acre. Stonecrop. Wall Pepper. On
tiled roof's about Tixall. T. C. June, July.

Oxalis acetosella. Wood Sorrel. Satnall Hill Plantation,
T. C. April, May.

AgrostemmaGithago. Corn Cockle. Cornfields about Tixall.
T. C. June, July.

Lychnis flos Cuculi. Ragged Robin, Crabtree-stocks, Tixall,
T. C.

L. dioica. Campion Cuckow Flower. Ibid. T. C. May,
September.

Cerastium aquaticum. Water Chickweed. At Burston, and
in the lane leading from the turnpike road to Gayton. Forster.
July, August.

Spergula arvensis. Coi'n Spurrey. Corn fields about Tixall.
T. C. Julyj September.

DODECANDRIA.

Monogynia. Lythrum salicaria. Loosestrife. Banks of the
river Sow, Tixall. T. C. July, August.

Oo

( 298 )

Digynia. Agrimonia eupatoria. Agrimony. Hedges about
Tixall. T. C. June, July.

Trigynia. Reseda luteola. Woad. Dyer's Weed. Weld.
Near Stafford, by the road side leading to Penkridge. Rev. S.
Dickenson. June, July.

Euphorbia characias. Red Spurge. Rare. Dr. Plot, Hist.
of Staff, ch. 6j p. 202, records it as growing on the paper mill
pool dam in Haywood Park • but it has since been sought for
there in vain. March, April.

Euph. exigua. Dwarf spurge. In the turnpike road from
Stone to Hollywood Gate. Forster. July, Aug.

Euph. amygdaloides. Wood Spurge. At the Holly Woo d
near Hardwick Heath. Forster. March, April.

Dodecagynia. Sempervivum tectorum. Cyphel. Common
House Leek. Roofs in Tixall village. T. C. July.

ICOSANDRIA.

Pentagynia. Mespilus oxyacantha. Hawthorn. Some very
beautiful in Tixall Park. T. C. May, June.

Pyrus aucuparia. Quickentree. Mountain Ash. In the oak
coppice leading to Black Heath. T. C. May.

Spiraea ulmaria. Meadow Sweet. Moist meadows about Tix-
all. T. C. June, July.

Polygynia. Fragaria vesca. Wood Strawberry. Wolseley
Park. T. C. May, June.

F. sterilis. Bari'en Strawberry. Tixall, very common. T. C.
April, May.

Potentilla anserina. Silver Weed. In the lanes about Tixall.
T. C. June, July.

P. reptans. Cinquefoil. Ibid. T. C. June, September.

( 299 )

Tormentilla officinalis. Tormeniil. Black Heath, Cannock
Heath. T. C. June, September.

Geum urbanum. Avens. Herb Bennet. Crabtree Stocks,
Tixall. T. C. June^ August.

G. rivale. Water Avens. Meadows near Shenstone, plenti-
fully. Forster. June, July.

Comarum palustre. Marsh Cinquefoil. Plentiful in pits about
Stone. F. June, July.

POLYANDRIA.

Monogynia. Chelidonium niajus. Celandine. Tixall village.
T. C. May, July.

Papaver rhaeas. Red Poppy. Corn fields, Tixall. T. C.
June, August.

Nymphaea lutea. Yellow Water Lily. Tn the river Trent, near
Haywood Mill. T. C. July, August.

Nym. alba. White Water Lily. In the river Sow, near Staf-
ford. With. In the Sow near Hollisford. T. C. July. This
is one of the most beautiful plants in the English Flora.

Tilia europaea. Lime. Lindentree. Near the half-way house, be-
tween Tixall and Stafford. T. C. July.

Pentagynia. Aquilegia vulgaris. Columbine. Brick-lawn co-
pice, Tixall. T. C. June.

Polygynia. Anemone nemorosa. Wood Anemone. Woods
and shady places. Tixall. T. C. April.

Ranunculus Ficaria. Pilewort. Meadows and pastures, com-
mon. T. C. April.

Ran. lingua. Great Spearwort. Kingston Pool. With. June,
July.

Ran. auricomus. Goldilocks. Woods and hedges, Tixall.
T. C. April, May.

0 0 2

( 3oo )

Ran. sceleratus. Round-leaved Water Crowfoot. In a wet
ditch near Tixall garden gate. T. C. May, June.

R. aquatilis. Wood Crowfoot. Ponds at Tixall. T. C. May,
July.

Helleboi-us foelidus. Bearsfoot. Stinking Hellebore. Old
Ditch Bank in Tixall Lay Park, under the thorns near the Crabtree-
stocks T. C. March, April.

Callha paluslris. Marsh Marigold. Moist meadows, Tixall,
common. T. C. April, May.

Thalictrum flavum. Meadow Rue. Poplar beds near Milford
Aqueduct. T. C. IN'ear Meaford. F. June.

DIDYNAMIA.

Gymnospermia. Ajuga reptans. Bugle. Hanyard drive,
Tixall. T.C. May.

Teucrium Scorodonia. Wood Sage. Sage Germander. Black
Heath, Berry-hill, Tixall. T. C. July.

Glecoma hcderacea. Ground Ivy. Tixall, passim. T. C
April, INIay.

Lamium album. Archangel. White dead Nettle. May,
June. Tixall, passim.

Lam. rubrum. Red dead Nettle. DeeNettle. Apnl, September.
Tixall, passim.

Galeospis versicolor. Large flowered hemp Nettle. Bee Netde.
In corn fields about Bellamour : also at Tixall. T. C. July,
August.

Galcobdolon luteum. Yellow dead Nettle. Woods and shady
places in Staffordshire frequent. With. Hanyard drive. T.C.
May.

Ballota nigra. Stinking Horehound. About Stafford a va-
riety, white flowers with a tinge of red. With. Also about
Colwich. F. July, August.

( 3oi )

Melissa Calaniintha. Calamint. Rare. On a hedge bank
near Wolselej bridge. Rev. S. Dickenson; also about Colwich
with the preceding. F. June, August.

Scutellaria galericulata. Hooded Willow-herb. Blue Skull-
cap. Navigation banks, Tixall. T. C. August.

Prunella vulgaris Sell-heal. Meadows and pastures. Tix-
all. T. C. August.

Angiospermia. Bartsia odontites. Red Bartsia. Bricklawn-
pieces, Tixall. July, September.

Rhiuanthus crista Galli. Yellow Rattle. Penny-grass. Rough
Croft, Tixall. T. C, June, July.

Euphrasia officinalis. Eye-bright. Tixall Ley Park. T. C.
July, September.

Melampyrum pratense. Yellow Cow-wheat. Hollywood and
other places in Stone parish. F. July, August.

Pedicularis palustris. Marsh Louse- wort. Navigation Bank
near Hay wood Wharf. T. C, June, July.

P. sylvatica. Common Louse-wort, Black Heath, Tixall.
T. C. May, July.

Antirrhinum Linaria. Toad-flax. Snapdragon. Butter and
Eggs. Roadsides Tixall; common. T. C. July, September.

Scrophularia aquatica. Water Betony. Fig-wort. Naviga-
tion Bankj Tixall. July, September.

Digitalis purpurea. Foxglove ; very common in Stafford-
shire, though scarce in the western and eastern counties. A
variety with white flowers, on a stone wall which fences Lord
Anson's High Leasow from Cannock Heath, near the foot-path
leading from Haywood to Stafford. T. C. June, July. Dr.
Withering first recommended the powerful medical virtues of the
Digitalis to the public, by a pamphlet published in 1785.

( 5o2 )

TETRAD YNAMIA.

Siliculosa. Drabaverna. Common Whitlow-grass. Gravel
walks and walls, Tixall. T. C. March, April.

Thlaspi campestre. Mithridate Mustard. Perry's Quarry piece,
Tixall. T. C. June, July.

Thl. Bursa Pastoris. Shepherd's Pouch. Tixall, passim.
T. C. March, September.

Iberis nudicaulis. Rock Cress. Naked Candy-tuft. Road
leading from Tixall to half-way house ; hedge bank on the north
side, T. C. May, July.

Siliquosa. Cardamine hirsuta. Haiiy ladies' Smock ; com-
mon in Staffordshire. With. May, June.

Card, pratensis. Ladies' Smock. Meadows, Tixall. T. C.
April, May.

Card, amara. Bitter ladies' Smock. Banks of Grand Trunk
Canal near Haywood. T. C. April, May.

Sisymbrium Nasturtium. Water-cresses. Brook by Tixall
church-yard. T. C. June, July.

Sisymb. terrestre. Annual Water-cress. Near Stafford, on
the road to the castle. With. June, September.

Erysimum officinale. Hedge Mustard. Crabtree-stocks.
Hedges about the Hanyard. T. C. June, July.

Erys. AUiaria. Jack by the Hedge. Sauce Alone. Hedges,
ditch banks and shady places, Tixall. T. C. May.

Turritis glabra. Smooth tower Mustard. In Hedges near
Lichfield leading to Tamworth. F. May, June.

( 3o5 )

MONADELPHIA.

Pentaudria. Erodium cicutarium. Hemlock Stork's Bill.
About Whittingtou Heath. F. June, August.

Decandria. Geranium pratense. Crowfoot, Cranesbill. Mill
Pond at Haywood Mill. Near the farm-yard, Ingestrie. T. C.
June, July.

Geranium rob ertianum. Herb Robert. Avariety with white
flowers, on the road from Lichfield to Stafford, a little beyond the
4th mile stone. Savillc. April, August. Also in lanes near
Hanchurch. F.

G. lucidum. Shining Cranesbill. Lane leading from Tixall
to Stafford, near the turnpike. T. C May, August.

G. pusillum. Small flowered Cranesbill. Several places about
Sandon, and at Walton near Stone. F. June, September.

G. molle et dissectum. Very common. T. C. April, Oct.

Polyandria. Malva moschata. Musk Mallow; common in
Staffordshire. With. July, August.

DIADELPHIA.

Hexandria. Fumaria officinalis. Fumitory. Gardens and
cultivated grounds. Tixall. T. C May, August.

F. claviculata. White climbing Fumitory. At Sandon, near
Lord Harrowby's flower garden. Also near Oulton. F. June,
July.

Octandria. Polygala vulgaris. Milkwort. Tixall Ley Park.
Black Heath. T. C June, July.

Decandria. Genista tinctoria. Dyer's-weed. Coley near
Great Haywood. T. C. July, August.

( 3o4 )

Gen. auglica. Needle Furze. Ingestrie Saltmarsh. T.C.
May, June.

UJex europseus. February, August. Ulex nanus. August, Oc-
tober. Gorze. Both species common at Tixall. T.C.

Ononis arvensis. Rest-harrow. Var. B. at Black Heath,
Tixall. T. C. July.

Lalhyrus Nissolia. Crimson Grass-vetch. Coton Field near
Stafford, in the hedge bank on the upper part. With. It is
very beautiful, and deserves a place in our gardens.

Lath, pratensis. Meadow Vetchliug. Hedges at Tixall. T. C.
June.

L. sylvestris. Narrow leaved La thy I'us. Everlasting Pea. At
the Red Hill near Stone. F. July, August.

Vicia sylvatica. Wood Vetch. Upon hedges at the bottom
of a copse at the Radford's near Stone ; and very plentifully in a
wood belonging to Wm. Jervis, Esq. not far from Oultou. F.
July, August. A beautiful climber.

Vicia sativa. Vetch. Siblhorp's variety, angustifolia, grows
in the lane leading from Haywood to Coley. T. C. May, June.

V. sepium. Black Vetch. A variety with white flowers in
Hill Walk. Tixall. T.C May, June.

Ornithopus perpusillus. Bird's-fool. Sandy rock at Tixall,
in the Stafford road just above the stone quarry. T. C. May,
September.

Astragalus glycyphyllos. Wild Liquorice. Rare. In the
lane leading from Tixall to Stafibrd, just beyond Kingston-pool.
T. C. On a ditch bank on the road from Stafford to Penkridge,
nearly opposite the Roman Catholic chapel. Rev. S. Dickenson.
June, July.

Trifolium striatum. Soft knotted Trefoil. In a field near
Stafford. Idem. June.

( 5o5 )

POLYADELPHIA.

Polyandria. Hypericum quadrangulum. St. Peler's-wort. Can-
nock Heath. T. C. June, July.

Hyp. montanum. Mountain St. John's-wort. Oakedge,
near Wolseley bridge. T. C. July.

Hyp. Pulchrum. Upright St. John's-wort. Cannock Heath.
Wolseley Park. T. C. July.

Hyp. elodes, and most of the plants of this genus, are to be
found in the neighbourhood of Stone. F.

SYNGENESIA.

Polygamia eequalis. Tragopogou porrifolius. Purple Goat's-
beard. Stilsafy. Crabtree-stocks, Tixall. T. C. May.

Lactuca virosa. Wild Lettuce. On a hedge bank in the
turnpike-road near Chartley-castle. With. July, August.

Prenanthes muralis. Ivy-leaved Lettuce. About the parson-
age house, Stone. F. July.

Chicorium Intybus. Wild Succory. Endive. ClifTs-park
piece, Tixall. T. C. July, August

Arctium Lappa. Burdock. Crabtree-stocks, Tixall. T. C.
July, August.

Carduus acanthoides. Welted Thistle. Rare. Road near
Chartley-castle. Rev. S. Dickenson. June, September.

Carlina vulgaris. Cai'line Thistle. Cannock Heath. T. C. June.

Eupatorium cannabinum. Hemp Agrimony. Turnpike-
I'oad, near Stevenson's farm-house at Weston. F. July,
August.

Pp

( 3o6 )

Polygamia superflua. Tussilago Farfara. Coli's-foot. Tixall;
very common. T.C March, April.

Tuss. Petasites. Butterbur. Banks of the Trent at Hoo Mill.
T. C. April.

Aster Tripolium. Sea Starwort. Saltmarsh, Tixall glebe.
T.C. In a salt meadow near Shirlejvvich, between the Trent
and thei:anal. With. August, September.

Chrysanthemum segetum. Corn Marigold. Tixall lodge
marl pit. T. C June, October.

Anthemisnobilis. Camomile. Cannock Heath, on the road
from Hedgford to Stafford, near the linger post j plentiful. Pitt.
August, September.

Polygamia Fi'ustranea. Centaurea Calcitrapa. Star Thistle.
Hill above Kingston Tool. T. C. July, August.

Centaurea Cyanus. Corn Flower. Cornfields, Tixall. T.C.
June.

GYNANDRIA.

Diandria. Orchis bifolia. Butterfly. Orchis. In woods
about Stone. F. June.

Orchis mascula. Early Orchis. Crabtree-stocks, Tixall .
T. C. May.

O. latifolia. Broad leaved Orchis. Moist meadows, Tixall
Common. T. C. May, June.

Ophrys ovata. Twayblade. Crabtree-stocks. Tixall. T .C.
May, June.

Serapias latifolia. Helleborine. Under the young oaks above
the Rough Croft. Tixall. T. C. July, August.

MONOECIA.

Tetrandria. Betula alba. Birch Tree. The variety called

( 5o7 )
Weeping Birchj grows faster than the common species. When
advanced in age, the varied colours and rough surface of the
bark, and its elegantly drooping branches, give it a very pic-
turesque appearance. There is a very fine one at the end of the
Clover-grass, Tixall, near the Ley Park. T. C. April, May.

Bi-youia dioica. Briony. Wild Vine. Crabti'ee-stucks. Tixall.
May, September.

Polyandria. Myriophyllum spicatum. Spiked water Millfoil.
In broadwater Ditches, between the canal and the river Sow.
Tixall. T. C. May, July.

Sagittaria sagittifolia. Arrow Head. In waters about St. Tho-
mas Priory. F. July, August.

Arum maculajum. Cuckowpint. Lords and Ladies. Ditch
banks and shady places, common. T. C. May.

Quercus Robur. Oak. A handsome grove of them in Tixall
Park, some few of which ai-e 12 or 14 feet in circumference. One
of great age and still larger dimensions stands in a spot, which
was once the corner of Tixall Bowling-green, now destroyed.
The tradition of the family is that in the time of Oates's plot,
(1678) the wretch Diigdale gave evidence that, concealed behind
this tree, he over-heard Lord Aston plotting with Loi'd Stafford
against the government, under pretence of playing at bowls.
Upon this evidence Lord Aston was taken up and confined to the
Tower. For this venerable tree the following lines of Horace
afford an appropriate inscription :

Ille et aefasto te posult die

Quiciimque primutn et sacrilega manu

Produxit arbos, in nepotum

Perniciem, opprobiiumque pagi. Hor. Lib. 2, Od. 10.

( 3o8 )

DIOECIA.

Diandria. Salixpeniandra. Sweet Willow. By a wet ditch
near the East-gate, Stafford. With. April.

Triandria. Empetrum nigrum. Crow-berries. Chartley Moss.
Lord Bagot. Cannock Heath. T. C. April, May.

Pentandria. Huniulus lupulus. Hops. Common in hedges
about Tixall.

The nature of this Work does not admit of entering on a detail
of cryptogamous Plants to be found in the vicinity of Tixall ; but
the lovers of this inconspicuous, though very interesting branch
of Botany, will find here ample scope for their amusing pursuits,
particularly about Black Heath, Tixall, Chartley Park and Moss,
aud among the wilds of Cannock Chace.

SUPPLEMENT.

EXTRACTS FROM THE WORKS OF MICHAEL DRAYTON.

( 1 )

To my TP'ojthy and Honoured Friend,

MAISTER WALTER ASTON,

(1598.)

Sir,
Though without suspition of flatterle I might in more ample
and freer temies, intymate my affection unto you, yet having so
sensible a taste of your genei'ous and noble disposition, which,
without this habit of ceremony can estimate my love ; 1 will ra-
ther afiFect brevitie, though it should seeme my fault, then by my
tedious complement, to trouble mine owne opinion settled in
your judgement and discretion. I make you the patron of this
Epistle of the Black Prince., which I pray you accept^ till more
easier houres offer up from me something more woi'thy of your

view, andmy travell.

Yours, truly devoted,

mich. drayton.
Qq

3io )

THE BAROKS WARS

IN THE RAIGKE OF EDWARDE THE SECOND.
WITH ENGI-ANd's

HEROICALL EPISTLES.

BY MICHAELL DRAYTON.
i685.

To the TVorihy and his most Honoured Frend,
MA. WALTER ASTON.

I will not strive m' invenlioa to enforce,

With needles words your eyes to entertaine :
T' observe the formall ordinarie course,

That every one so vulgarly doth faine.
Our interchanged and deliberate choice.

Is with more firme and true election sorted
Than stands in censure of the common voyce.

That with light humour fondly is transported.

Nor take I patteme of another's praise,

But what my pen can constantly avowe ;
Nor walke more publique, nor obscurer waies.

Than yertue bids, and judgement will alow.

So shall my love, and best endeavours serve you,
And still shall studie, still so to deserve you.

MICHAELL DRAYTON.

(Six )

(3)

THE

O VV L E,
BY mCHAELL DRAYTON,

ESQUIRE.

Noctiias Ailienas.

PRDDENS

KON
LOQCAX.

1604.

TO

THE WORTHY

And my most esteemed Patron

SIR WALTER ASTON,

KHIGHT OF THE
HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH,

For the shrill trumpet and sterne tragick sounds
Objects out-rageous and so full of feare ;
Our pen late steep'd in English Barons wounds,
Sent war-like accents to your tune-full eare.
Our active Muse to gentler morals dight,
Her slight conceites in humbled tunes doth sing:
And with the bird (regardlesse of the light)
Slowely doth move her late high-mounting wing.
The wreathe is luje that ingirts our brovves,
Where-in this night"s-bird harboreth all the day ;

Q Q

( ri2 )

We dare not looke at other crowning boughes,
But leave the laurell unto them that may.
Lowe as the earth, though our invention move :
High yet as heaven (to you) our spotles love.

MICHAELL DRAYTON.

(4)

To the Honour of mj Noble Patron,
SIR WALTER ASTON ;

As other my poems, so I conseciate these my pastoral posies.

M. DRAYTON.

(5)

MOSES IN A MAP OF HIS MIRACLES.

1604.

TO MY ESTEEMED PATRON, SIR WALTER ASTON.

KNIGHT OF THE HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH.

Although our sundry, (yet our sacred) flames,
Worke divers and as contrarie effects,
Yet than your owne, we seeke not other names.
Nor stranger arches our free muse erects.

( 1»^)

Thoiigli limitlesse be naturally our love.
We can her powers officiously cou6ue ;
We can instruct her orderly to move,
And keepe the compasse wisely we assigne :
To take our faire leave, (till that ampler times
Some glorious object strongly may beget)
We make our tender of these hallowed rimes,
The vertuous payment of a worthier debt.
Till to our names that monument we reare
That Steele and marble unto dust shall weare.

MICHAELL DRAYTON.

To this poem are prefixed some commendatory verses, accord-
ing to the fashion of the times, and among them are the following :

TO THE HONOURABLE KNIGHT,

SIR WALTER ASTON.

From humble sheepcoates to Love's bow and fires,
Thence to the armes of kings, and grieved peeres ;
Now to the great Jehovah's acts aspires,
Faire sir, your poet's pen ; your noblesse cheers
Hismountiug muse ; and with so worthy hand
Applauds her flight, that nothing she will leave
Above the top, whereon she makes her stand.
So high bright honour learned spirits can heave !
Such lustre lends the poet's polish! verse
Unto nobility, that after-times
Shall ihiiike their patrons vertues they rehearse,
A'VHien vertuous men they caracterin rhimes.
You raise his thoughts with full desire of fame;
And amongst heroes he enrolls your name.
Y'ours,
BEALE SAPPERTON.

(3i4)

(6.)
FROM THE PREFACE TO POLYOLBION.

1612.

Whatever is herein that tastes of a free spirit, I thankfully con-
fess it to proceed from the continual bounty of my noble friend,
Sir Walter Aston ; which hath given me the best ofthose hourcs,
whose leasure hath effected this which 1 now publish.

(7-)

TO THE NOBLE

SIR WALTER ASTON,

KNIGHT OF THE HONOUUABLE ORDER OF THE BATH,

BARONET,

AND OF HIS MAJESTIES PRIVI CHAMBER.

1619.

Sir,
These my few poems, the works of that maiden reigne, in the
spring of our acquaintance, as it pleased you then to patronize,
as I singly set them forth ; so now collected in this small vo-
lume, I make the best present that my poore abilitie is able to
tender you Howsoever they may appear to these more prodi-
gious daiesl know not ; but this much I will say to mine owne

( 5i5 )

disadvantage, (should they hap to be unwelcome to these times)
that they were the fruit of that muse-nursing season, before this
frosty boreas, (I meane the world's coldnessc) had nipt our flowrie
Tempe, that with his pestilential fogs is like utterly to poyson the
Pierean spring, do not Apollo mightily protect it : before I say
hell had sent up her blacke iuries, that in every corner breathe
their venome in the face of cleere poesie j and, but that, as shee
is divine, her beauties be immortally they had before this blasted
her sweetnesse, and made her as ugly to the world as they them-
selves are in the eles of true judgedment and vertue. Worthy
Sir, my wish is, that as long as these poems can live, they may re-
maine as a monument by mee raised to your honour, whose con-
tinuance I wish, with as much happiness to your family as can
be desired. By your devoted,

M. DRAYTON.

(3i7)

POSTSCRIPT.

A MEMORANDUM

Concerning the Pedigree of Sir Roger de Aston, of Haywood, in the
county of Stafford, who died in theyear i3oo.

Odo, de Campania, or Count of Champagne, son of Odo, Count
of Blois, and Chartres, and grandson of Richard I. Dnke of Normandy,
accompanied his cousin William the Conqueror into England. (1066.)

Odo was the father of Stephen, Count of Albemarle, and Holdernesse ;
who was father of William /e Grosse, also Earl of Albemarle, and Holder-
nesse, and Lord of Craven, in the county of York.

William le Grosse married Cicely, daughter of William Fitz-Duncan,
Earl of Murray, and nephew to Malcolm, King of Scots : by whom
he had only two daughters, Hawise, and Cicily. William le Grosse
died in the year i I'jg.

■' Cicely was the wife of — Eston, who had issue by her a son called
Ranulph, and he John, father of another John de Eston (or Aston) : who,
as right heir, after " Aveliua de Fortibus," claimed the earldom of Al-
bemarle, iu 6 Edw. I, (ii-]-].) But he had certain lands in Thornton, as-
signed to him, to the value of one hundred pounds per amnim, to release
his light therein, which he did accordingly." — (Dugdale's Baronage of
England," vol. i, p. 60, et seq.)

As the Christian name of Ranulph, or Ralph, in this passage of Dugdale,
is the same as that of the father of " Roger de Aston, of Haywood ," and

Rr

( 3i8 )

as the time when they lived corresponds exactlj', is there not good reason,
to conjecture that they were one and the same person ? Such a descent
would justly entitle " Roger de Aston" to the appellation of Valeitus,
which was synonimous with MagnaU'sJiUus , the son of a nobleman, and ac-
cording to the unanimous testimony of antiquaries, was in those times
only given to the king's sons, or to young noblemen of the first rank.

John de Eston, or Aston, son of Ralph, and father of John, who claimed
the earldom of Albemarle, was probably the elder brother of " Roger de
Aston of Haywood," and the same who was joined with the rebellious ba-
rons in the castle of Kenilworth, against king Henrj^ III. about the year
1260. — (See the Genealogy of the family of Aston, Note G.)

(3.9)

CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.

Page g, 1. 22, read Baronettura; p. 17, 1. 6, for 1773 r. 1733 ;
p. 20, 1.11, for above 12 or ii^feet r. from 12 to 14 feet ; p. 25,
1. 20, ioT countries r. counties; p. 24, 1. 5, r. Crompton ; p. 26,
1. 18, for to read, of; p. 38, J. 7, and again 1. 18, for William r.
Walter; p. 46, 1. 23, f or wa// r. well ; p. 48, Ig, (or poem r.
epistle; p. 68, 1. 25, for a^^/^to«ce r. naarling; p. 100, last line,
for to read, so .

Some of the lines towards the conclusion of the poem on the
ruins of Tixall seem, in a historical and topographical point of
view, to require some illustration.

P. 104,1. i3.

For heroes here their eyes hai^e closed.

Sir John Aston, Knight of the Bath, and Knight Banneret, in the
reign of Henry 8. Sir Walter Aston, Knt. in the days of Eliza-
beth. Walter, second Lord Aston, who defended Lichfield for
King Charles \. To them may be added the greatest part of their
chivalrous ancestors, who, being all Knights, at a time when
knighthood was something more than a name, had more or less
their share in the warlike enterprises of their times ; though in
the lapse of ages, the record of their adventurous deeds has not
descended to us.

Ibid. 1. 14,

And statesmen from their toils reposed.

RR 2

( 320 )

Walter,- (list Lord Aston, twice Ambassador in Spain. Rich-
ard Weston, Earl of Portland, Lord High Treasurer, whose
daughter, Mary was married to Walter, second Lord Aston.

Ibid. 1. i5.

And sages, won by nature's charms,
Have woo'd her to their longing arms.

The second and third Lords Aston ; who from the intolerant
spirit of religious persecution in their times, were compelled to
live in retirement, and devoted their leisure hours to philosophi-
cal and scientific pursuits, as appears from their Manuscripts still
preserved at Tixallj some extracts from which have been pub-
lished in the second volume of the Tixall Letters. The fourth
Lord Aston also appears to have kept up a correspondance with
the great astronomer Flamstead, and with several of the philo-
sophical friends of Sir Isaac Newton. See Tixall Letters, vol. 2.

Isaac Walton, a great admirer of the beauties of Nature, was
a native of Stafford, and was intimate with the second Lord As-
ton. Dr. Withering, who lived at Stafford, while composing his
Botanical Arrangements ; and Dr. Darwin, author of Zoonomia,
the Botanic Garden, etc. who resided at Lichfield, were both
frequent visitors at Tixall.

Ibid. 1. 17,

And poets here have struck the lyre.

Drayton ; his steady patron, Walter, first Lord Aston • Sir
Richai'd Fanshaw, the translator of Camoens ; and the authors
and editor of the poems in that curious and interesting work, the
" Tixall Poetry."

In the pi-eface to that work, p. 3i, the editor says, " In the
notes to these poems, I have found an opportunity to insert two
short poems of my own composition j not only for the reasons

(321 )

there assigned, but from an anxious desire to prove that the-Heli-
conian Maids still love to linger among the hills, the streams, and
the groves at Tixall." He now takes occasion to insert here the
following

SONNET
ON TIXALL,

THE BIETH-PLACE OF THE AUTHOR.

Tixall, thy rural charms so fresh and fair,

Where Art and Nature strive for mastery ;
Thy vernal suns, pure skies, and healthful air,

With all the beauties of thy scenery :
That verdant lawn, those softly swelling hills,

The various views of water, woods and glades.
Luxuriant groves, rich meadows, crystal rills,

Umbrageous bowers, and thought-inspiring shades —
Though these enrapturing scenes, for ever new,

Present or absent, on my fancy dwell.
Yet not for them to thee my heart is true.

Yet not for them I feel my bosom swell :
But that here first these eyes beheld the day,
And that here flowed my infant years away.

AH the biographers of Drayton (who was one of the most emi-
nent poets in the golden reign of Queen Elizabeth, and in that of
her successor) take notice of the liberal patronage which he
enjoyed from Sir Walter Aston of Tixall. This Drayton himself
gratefully acknowledges, in the prefaces, and dedications, to
many of his works. They are to be found collected in the
Supplement.

P. i56, 1. 6j r. agreements j p. i43, 1. 8. Spetchley in i53g,

( 322 )

(SoHen. 8.) came into the possession of'Richard Sheldon, who was
married to Catherine, daughter of Thomas Littleton. Their son
Philip sold it to Mr. Rowland Berkeley, who settled the same on
his son Sir Robert Berkeley, Knt. justice of the King's Bench.
He died in 1692, aged 72, and is interred under a handsome
altar-tomb in Spetchley church. He was succeeded by his eldest
son i and his descendants now enjoy the whole property of the
parish. Robert Berkeley, Esq. the present possessor, has lately
erected there a very elegant and commodious modern mansion,
which is surrounded by a handsome park, well stocked with deer,
and a noble demesne.

P. 146, 1. 5, for 26 r. 55 J p. 258, 1. 5, for rere r. were;
Ibid. 1. g, for ri/l r. vill j p. 261, I. 22, for ha^'e r. having ; p.
287, 1. i5, r. Valeriana; p. 288, 1. 22, for Cleaves r. Cleavers;
p. 289, 1. 24, r. vulgare ; Ibid. 1. 29, for Beau, r. Bean ; p. 260,
1. 12, r. Convolvulus ; p. 295, 1. 11, r. opulus; p. 295, 1. 11,
for state r. stem ; Ibid. 1. 26, iov Spi'ing r. Spurge.

( 523 )

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.

Description of Tixall Parish from Doomsday Book 5

Account of its several successive Proprietors 7

Boundaries of Tixall Parish 11

Hopton Heath 12

Ingestrie. The families of Chetwynd and Talbot i5

The river Trent 21

Beacon Hill 3o

Prioiy of St. Thomas. Family of Fowler 33

The river Sow. Family of Fitzherbert. Stafford town

and castle 42

Cannock Heath 4?

Shugborough. The family of Anson 58

Description of Tixall parish 67

Tixall church 72

Account of different objects seen from the grounds at Tixall 76

BHthfield woods 78

Saltworks. Weever Hills. Wooton. J.J.Rousseau.... 79

Chartley-castle. Queen of Scots 81

Tixall Heath. Massacre of Wm. Chetwynd 85

Description of Tixall House gi

Poem on the ruins of Tixall 100

NOTES.

A. Family of Montgomery. . . . , log

( 524 )

PAGE .

B_ Stafford 11.7

Q Ferrers i25

D. Wastneys ' • • • i55

E. Conveyance of Tixail from Wastneys to Littleton- • • i56

F. Family of Littleton 1 40

Pedigrees of Freviile, Howard., and Talbot 144

G. Genealogy of the family of Aston of Tixail 145

H. Clifford of Tixail 154

APPENDIX.

L Account of Doomsday Book i65

II. Ancient Chartularies of St. Thomas Priory 1-72

III. Account of Tixail and Haywood from Chetwynd

MS 181

IV. Sir Wm. Jerningham's claim to the barony of Staf-
ford 186

V. Genealogical Notices respecting the intermarriages

of the Aston family. De la Launde. Wolseley. Mal-

veysin • ig-7

Leigh. Frevile jgn

Scales. Marmion 202

Cromwell. Strange of Blaclmere 204

Montfort -^06

Botetourt 209

Bedford barony. Somery. Greene. Brereton 210

Draycot. Delves 212

Bagot. Biddulph 2i3

Welsh. Byron. Stapleton. Curzon 216

Erdeswick. Bolles. Lawley. Gresley. Harcourt. . . 218

Keedhani. Leveson. Cronipton. Peyto 220

( 025 )

PAGE.

Fielding. Lucy. Thimclby 222

Persall. Weston. Gage 224

Southcote. Somerset. Ogle. Blount ■226

Howard. Talbot 228

VI. Memorials of the Aston family aSo

Zoology of Tixall and its neighbourhood 277

Flora Tixalliana 285

Supplement 3og

Postscript 617

Corrections and Additions 5 19

THE END.

PARIS : Primed hj M. NoozoK,
No. 9. Hue Cltry.

X('V

us

DA Constable, (Sir) Thomas

^qn Hugh Clifford

tSc6 a topographical and

^^^ historical description

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